Washington University School of Medicine

Washington University School of Medicine
Department of Neurology
Box 8111, 660 S. Euclid Ave.
St. Louis, MO  63110
USA

Research Categories:

    -Basic science research
    -Translational research

Research Interests/projects:

The development of the mammalian brain is a highly regulated process involving both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous decisions that determine cell fate, proliferation, migration and death. The genes that govern these critical decisions are often mutated in human cancers, and their de-regulated function in the central nervous system (CNS) leads to the development of brain tumors. Our laboratory is interested in understanding the key signals that control normal neural stem cell (NSC) and glial cell growth and differentiation in vitro and in vivo. To this end, we study the genes mutated in the two cancer predisposition syndromes, neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) and neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2), in which affected individuals develop brain tumors. We have generated numerous genetically-engineered mouse models to explore the relationship between developmental neurobiology (normal growth regulation in the brain) and neuro-oncology (brain tumor formation).  Current projects in the laboratory focus on (1) dissecting the key signaling pathways that drive tumor cell growth, (2) defining the role of the tumor microenvironment, (3) elucidating the impact of cancer-causing genetic changes on neural stem cell function, and (4) using genetically-engineered mouse models of brain tumors to study disease pathogenesis and novel treatment strategies.