Author: annawilson

Dr. David H. Gutmann, and fellow researchers at John’s Hopkins University, confirmed the importance of microRNA in the biology of glioma tumors in NF1. MicroRNAs are small, noncoding molecules that control how cells build proteins. Previous findings have shown that the levels of different types of microRNA molecules help determine the way cells function. The […]

On June 5th, 2020, Dr. Xiaofan (Gary) Guo successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “Immune Regulation of Brain Tumors”. Dr. Guo was a visiting MD/Ph.D. student in the laboratory of Dr. David H. Gutmann from 2017-2020, where he sought to define the interactions between neurons, immune cells and tumor cells in NF1-associated optic pathway gliomas. Gary’s […]

Dr. Angela Hirbe, Assistant Professor in Medical Oncology, and her team found that malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are complex tumors composed of numerous distinct populations of cancer cells. MPNSTs are aggressive cancers that are traditionally difficult to treat, and frequently result in early patient death. Moreover, no effective treatments have been identified. Dr. […]

Michelle Wegscheid, an MD/PhD trainee in the Neurosciences Program at Washington University, successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “Genetic risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders: Insights from hiPSC-cerebral organoids.” Michelle conducted her PhD training in the laboratory of Dr. David H. Gutmann at the Washington University Neurofibromatosis (NF) Center, where she worked to define how distinct […]

Neurons, immune cells work together to promote tumor growth in neurofibromatosis type 1 Children with the genetic condition neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) can develop brain and nerve tumors. If a tumor develops within the optic nerve, which connects the eye and the brain, the child may lose his or her vision. New research at Washington […]

As an outgrowth of a seminal meeting at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Banbury Center in December 2019, a white paper contributed to by Dr. David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, FAAN, outlined the new field of “cancer neuroscience”. This emerging scientific discipline is built on the idea that the nervous system normally controls the development, […]

In the recently published study in Stem Cell Reports, Corina Anastasaki, PhD, Michelle Wegscheid, MD, PhD candidate, and colleagues sought to determine whether different NF1 gene mutations found in patients with NF1 have different effects on human brain cells. To achieve this, the authors used seven human induced pluripotent stem cell lines with different NF1 patient NF1 gene mutations […]

Dr. Angela Hirbe, a Washington University NF Center researcher, is one of leaders of the Genomics of MPNST (GeM) consortium, organized by the NF Research Initiative (NFRI) at Boston Children’s Hospital. This group of NF researchers from around the world have joined forces to perform the largest comprehensive genomic analysis of MPNST to date. This study will […]

In a recent publication, spearheaded by Dr. Wing H. Wong, a former graduate student in Dr. Todd Druley’s laboratory, in collaboration with NF Center director, Dr. David Gutmann, identified a new gene involved in the formation of malignant brain tumors, called glioblastomas, in people with NF1. In this study, they performed whole-exome sequencing on multiple […]

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common cancer predisposition syndromes, where children are prone to develop low-grade brain tumors. In order to better define the MRI features and natural history of non-optic pathway tumors (non-OPTs) in children with NF1,  Dr. Jasia Mahdi conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 64 children with NF1 […]

Elizabeth Cordell, a first year medical student at Washington University, was awarded the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Pediatric Oncology Student Training (POST) Grant. The grant provides a summer stipend for promising young researchers interested in pediatric oncology. Elizabeth will study the neuroimmunology of brain tumors under the mentorship of Dr. David Gutmann, director of the […]