As a CPRIT Scholar at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH)/Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), I will continue my efforts to understand the biological basis of childhood brain tumors to improve patient outcomes. My research focuses on two common tumor types: medulloblastoma and ependymoma. My aims will focus on the CPRIT priorities of childhood cancer, computational biology, cancer prevention, and development of novel therapeutics. As a CPRIT Scholar I will:

1) Use existing and emerging tools in genomics, functional genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and other emerging OMICS technologies to refine our understanding of brain tumor biology and genetics. We will continue to delineate intratumoral and in...

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As a CPRIT Scholar at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH)/Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), I will continue my efforts to understand the biological basis of childhood brain tumors to improve patient outcomes. My research focuses on two common tumor types: medulloblastoma and ependymoma. My aims will focus on the CPRIT priorities of childhood cancer, computational biology, cancer prevention, and development of novel therapeutics. As a CPRIT Scholar I will:

1) Use existing and emerging tools in genomics, functional genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and other emerging OMICS technologies to refine our understanding of brain tumor biology and genetics. We will continue to delineate intratumoral and intertumoral heterogeneity, a key barrier to developing effective therapy. Existing strengths at BCM in proteomics and genomics will be utilized in these efforts.

2) Use tools and concepts from studies of normal early human hindbrain development to better understand the etiology of childhood brain cancer. In contrast to adult cancers, which are diseases of a disordered genome, most childhood cancers harbor few mutations, arising after failure of normal differentiation. My lab discovered that most medulloblastomas and ependymomas are initiated in utero, emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive understanding of very early hindbrain development.

3) Improve the clinical care and outcome of children with brain cancer in Texas and globally through translation of our discoveries in pediatric brain tumor genetics into clinical trials. We will leverage our understanding of the molecular and developmental basis of pediatric brain cancer and use our lab’s preclinical mouse hospital to test novel epigenetic and immunotherapeutic strategies to prevent the recurrence (local or metastatic) of pediatric brain cancers. This approach will complement and further enhance the current strengths at TCH/BCM in neuro-oncology, precision medicine and cellular immunotherapy.

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