Category: News Story

Suzanne Scheaffer, MS recently joined the research laboratory of NF Center director, David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, FAAN,  as a staff scientist.  Suzanne completed her Masters of Science degree in Pathology, at Saint Louis University.  In the Gutmann laboratory, Suzanne’s research focus will be on the discovery of therapies that prevent or improve vision in […]

David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor and NF Center Director, was one of 48 recipients of the Alexander von Humboldt Award. At the Humboldt Annual Fellows meeting held in Berlin on June 26th, Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany delivered the keynote speech, followed by a […]

Kelly Hartigan, an undergraduate student at Washington University, presented her summer research project at the Pediatric Student Research Program (PSRP) Symposium on Friday July 26, 2019. Kelly worked with MSTP student, Michelle Wegscheid, in the laboratory of Dr. David Gutmann. She shared her exciting findings using NF1 patient induced pluripotent stem cells to study human […]

Most children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) have difficulties with learning and/or behavior; however, these problems vary significantly between individuals. While deficits may affect all areas of learning and behavior, other impairments only affect one area. Adaptive functioning measures an individual’s ability to achieve age-appropriate maturity, judgment and reasoning, social sensibility, and personal independence. Adaptive […]

Nicole M. Brossier, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David Gutmann at Washington University, was recently awarded research fellowship grants from both Hyundai Hope on Wheels and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation to continue her exciting work on the origins of pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Brossier is completing her pediatric hematology/oncology […]

David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD recently finished his four-year term as a member of the Advisory Council for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This national advisory council advises the NINDS on policy and procedures affecting its research programs and provides a second level of […]

Yuan Pan, PhD, was recently awarded the Early Investigator Research Award from the Department of Defense Neurofibromatosis (NF) Research Program. The Early Investigator Research Award was to support NF-focused research and promote career development towards an independent researcher in the NF field. Dr. Pan joined Dr. Gutmann’s laboratory as a postdoctoral research fellow to study […]

David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor and Vice Chair for Research Affairs for Neurology, was recently honored for twenty five years of service as faculty at Washington University. Upon his arrival in St. Louis in late 1993, he established the Neurofibromatosis (NF) Clinical Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital to care […]

Monocytes/macrophages are immune system-like cells important for normal brain function. In the healthy brain, resident microglia are the major macrophage cell population; however, in brain tumors, peripheral monocytes/macrophages can infiltrate the brain and participate in brain tumor growth. Distinguishing these two populations is often challenging, owing to a paucity of universally accepted and reliable markers. […]

Elizabeth Wright-Jin, MD, PhD recently joined the research laboratory of NF Center Director, David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, as a postdoctoral research fellow. Dr. Wright-Jin completed her MD and PhD training at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine under the mentorship of Robert Heuckeroth, MD, PhD, where she worked on the impact of […]

Amanda Costa has recently joined the research laboratory of the NF Center Director, David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, as a postdoctoral research associate. She obtained her PhD with Helmut Kettenmann, PhD, at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the Charité University of Medicine, Berlin, Germany, where she investigated the importance of microglia in […]

Children and adults with NF1 can develop a wide variety of clinical features, including brain and nerve tumors. While small animal models of NF1 have been successfully generated in flies and mice, none of these animals display the spectrum of clinical problems found in people with NF1. Spearheaded by Dr. Adrienne Watson of Recombinetics, Inc. […]

Jit Chatterjee, PhD recently joined the research laboratory of NF Center Director, David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, as a postdoctoral research fellow. Dr. Jit completed his graduate training at Mangalore University in India, where he investigated radiation-induced brain cell dysfunction in mouse models. Over the next few years, Dr. Jit will be studying the role […]

Each year Siteman Cancer Center sponsors CUREiosity, an event to celebrate the “Rock Docs” making a difference at the Alvin J Siteman Cancer Center as well as the cutting edge “Rock Star Research” being conducted at the institution. This year more than 300 guests were in attendance, and one of our very own NF Center […]

In a recent study, Dr. Angela Hirbe and her team analyzed βIII-spectrin expression in a series samples from patients cared for in the Washington University NF Center and the Siteman Cancer Center Sarcoma Program. While strong βIII-spectrin expression was detected in all high-grade MPNSTs, it was found in only half of the low-grade MPNSTs and […]

Corina Anastasaki, PhD, a senior Staff Scientist in the laboratory of David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, was recently awarded one of the first Research Specialist (R50) grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The Research Specialist Award was specifically designed to encourage the development of stable research career opportunities for exceptional scientists who want to […]

Children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are commonly shorter than typically developing children in the general population. While this short stature results from a change (mutation) in the NF1 gene, the reasons for this reduced height have not been identified. In a new study, St. Louis Children’s Hospital resident, Nick Zessis, MD, under the direction […]

Register for the 2018 Symposium The Washington University NF Center will be hosting its fourth biennial NF Center Symposium on September 5, 2018 in the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the Medical School Campus. In addition to our two keynote speakers, Drs. Frank McCormick and Eric Legius, we are delighted to showcase research and […]

This article, written by Tamara Bhandari, originally appeared in the Washington University School of Medicine News Hub on August 8, 2018. The frequency of brain tumors has been underestimated in children with the common genetic syndrome neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), according to a new study. This disorder is characterized by birthmarks on the skin and […]

The Center for Regenerative Medicine, together with the Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Center (IDDRC) at Washington University, awarded a pilot award to Kristin Kroll, PhD to study the impact of NF1 gene mutations on brain nerve cells (neurons). The focus of this study is to understand how NF1 mutations affect brain development relevant to […]