Student in NF Scholars Program Awarded ALSF POST fellowship

Hannah Wang, an undergraduate student in Dr. David Gutmann’s laboratory, was recently awarded an Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) Pediatric Oncology Student Training (POST) summer research internship. The program was founded with the mission to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help […]

NF Center Investigators Awarded Grant to Develop Human Cell Culture Models of NF1 Brain Tumors

Low-grade gliomas (LGGs) are common brain tumors arising in children with the Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome. Unfortunately, the tumor cells from these brain cancers often die when grown in the laboratory under standard conditions. To more accurately model human LGGs from children with NF1, Washington University Assistant Professor, Dr. Corina Anastasaki, developed […]

Dr. Yuan Pan Awarded Gilbert Family Foundation Grant to Study Optic Gliomas

Dr. Yuan Pan, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was recently awarded a three-year grant from the Gilbert Family Foundation Vision Restoration Initiative to study how NF1 mutations in brain cells called oligodendroglial cells change their interactions with the optic nerve. In this grant, Dr. Pan’s team will work with Dr. Corina Anastasaki, Research […]

Dr. Maloney Awarded IDDRC Pilot Grant to Study Social Behavior Deficits in Mice

Dr. Susan Maloney, Research Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, was recently awarded a one-year grant from the Washington University Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) to study social behavior in mice with different Nf1 gene mutations. In this grant proposal, Dr. Maloney will collaborate with Dr. Corina Anastasaki, Research Assistant Professor in Neurology, to identify the autism-related behaviors in Nf1-mutant […]

Major Biomarker Project to Help Identify Cancer Predisposition in NF1 Patients

The Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) has announced a groundbreaking 3-year study, which it will fund for nearly $2 million, to determine if a DNA-based blood test can offer better understanding and ultimately earlier diagnosis of cancer predisposition in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. Approximately 7-15% percent of NF1 patients may develop malignant peripheral nerve sheath […]