Author: annawilson

We would like to welcome Dr. Matthew Stroh to the Gutmann Laboratory. After graduating with honors with a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC), Dr. Stroh joined the laboratory as postdoctoral research fellow. His work is primarily focused on understanding how growth is controlled in brain cells relative to other tissues, and he is particularly interested in determining how cells differentially use a limited number of critical signaling molecules to create a high degree of functional diversity.

Recent NF Center research has revealed that female sex hormones are the underlying reason why girls with NF1 who have an optic pathway glioma are much more likely to lose their vision than boys. Understanding why boys and girls with mutations in the same gene have different outcomes presents unprecedented opportunities to fix the problem.

Newly-elected Missouri State Representatives toured the NF Center to learn more about how the relationship between Washington University and the Barnes-Jewish-Christian (BJC) Health Care System improves the care of people with NF.

David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor and Director of the Washington University NF Center was recently awarded the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Research Program Award (RPA) grant to further his work on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie brain dysfunction in NF1.

Dr. Angela Hirbe, a medical oncologist and member of the NF Center, recently received a career development award from SARC, which will fund research aimed at better understanding the biology behind Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNSTs), very aggressive soft tissue sarcomas that are the leading cause of death for patients with NF1.

NF Center clinician-researcher, Stephanie Morris, MD, and her colleagues have linked mutations in a single gene to autism in people who have NF1. These findings, which may lead to a better understanding of the genetic roots of autism in the wider population, were published Oct. 19 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Dr. Gutmann and his team at the NF Center were recently awarded a new grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how specific mutations in the NF1 gene, as well as patient sex, dictate optic glioma development and vision decline. Funding from this grant will enable the team to use novel genetically-engineered mouse models to define the contributions of these important determinants in NF1.

Gutmann Laboratory researcher, Matthew Stroh, PhD, was selected as a recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) fellowship award on the Hematology T32 Training Grant. For his project, Matt will be exploring the idea that brain cell growth is regulated in a context-dependent manner. These investigations have critical implications for many other diseases, in which specific genes control cell growth in a variety of cell types and tissues.

In a report recently published in the Journal of Child Neurology, Dr. Stephanie Morris and her colleagues demonstrated that macrocephaly is neither a reliable predictor of OPG development, nor is it an indicator of subsequent vision loss in those with NF1-related OPG. Current studies spearheaded by Dr. Morris are aimed at discovering new markers for specific NF1-related medical problems, including autism and attention deficit.