MD, PhD
Adjunct Professor, Pathology & Lab Medicine
UNC-Chapel Hill
Area of Interest
Gliomas are a diverse group of primary brain tumors currently diagnosed via the microscope and treated empirically with radiation and chemotherapy. Even with aggressive treatment, prognosis remains only ~15 months for the most malignant of these tumors, glioblastoma. Although diagnostic criteria have recently been updated to include molecular tumor features, therapy remains empirical. Novel treatment approaches that are based on the molecular alterations responsible for tumorigenesis are urgently needed.
The main goal of our work is to establish a direct link between preclinical drug development in glioma models and the rational design of molecular diagnostics-driven human clinical trials. Our laboratory uses sophisticated preclinical model systems (genetically-engineered mice and patient-derived xenografts), comprehensive genomic and proteomic molecular analyses, and developmental neurobiology techniques to address the following issues:
- Dissect the genetic mechanisms of glioma tumorigenesis in order to identify molecular markers with prognostic and predictive utility
- Define the role of cellular origin on disease pathogenesis
- Identify novel therapeutic strategies that are effective in molecularly-defined glioma subtypes
Awards and Honors
- Neuro-oncology Top Reviewer Award, Society for Neuro-oncology, 2015
- Best Oral Poster Presentation Award, Society for Neuro-oncology 20th Annual Scientific Meeting Tumor Biology 1 Session, 2015
- Highly Rated Poster Award, American Association for Cancer Research 103rd Annual Meeting, 2012
- Society for Neuro-oncology Adult Basic Science Award, 2012
- American Association of Neuropathologists Lucien J. Rubenstein Award, 2012
- UNC Weatherspoon Family Brain Tumor Research Award, 2012
- Damon Runyon-Genentech Clinical Scholar, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, 2009
- American Association of Neuropathologists Moore Award, 2007
- American Association of Neuropathologists Merit Award, 2007
- American Society of Clinical Oncology Merit Award, 2006
- American Association of Neuropathologists Merit Award, 2005
- American Brain Tumor Association Lucien J. Rubenstein Award, 2000
