glioblastoma Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys

Tag: glioblastoma

Institute News

Brain cancer researcher Jia Zack Shen wins 2022 Eric Dudl scholarship

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

October 18, 2022

Professor Cosimo Comisso, Brett Dudl, Dr. Jim Dudl, Barbra Dudl, and scholarship winner Zack Shen

For the first time since the pandemic, Sanford Burnham Prebys presented the Eric Dudl Endowed Scholarship Award in person at last week’s Cancer Center Open House. This year’s recipient, selected by leaders at the Cancer Center, was Jia Zack Shen, PhD, a staff scientist in the lab of Charles Spruck, PhD The award pays tribute to Eric Dudl, a postdoctoral researcher who succumbed to cancer in 2006, when he was just 33.

Eric Dudl​
Eric Dudl

“Eric was ill at such a young age, but he was also very lucky because he knew exactly what his dream job was and what his life meant,” says Shen. “Eric’s compassion and dedication to cancer research has been inspiring and encouraging for our postdocs here at Sanford Burnham Prebys. Thank you to the Dudl family for helping me continue my career here.”

Honoring Eric Dudl
In 2005, Eric Dudl had just begun his postdoctoral research in a cancer lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys, where he was known as kind, helpful and a fast learner. Then, at age 32, he was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer. This only fueled his fiery passion for cancer research.

“Even when he was very ill, Eric wanted to make a contribution in the time he had,” says Jim Dudl, MD, Eric’s father. “One day I looked at Eric and asked, ‘Why don’t you take some time off work? Get your energy back and go back in when you feel better?’ He looked up at me and said, ‘Why would I do that? This is the best job in the world!’”

Tragically, Eric Dudl would pass away in 2006, at age 33. The next year, his parents established the Eric Dudl Endowed Scholarship Fund to support young cancer researchers like their son.
“These talented scientists pick up where Eric had to leave off,” says Barbara Dudl, Eric’s mother.

“We are so grateful to the Institute for their compassion for Eric during his illness and helping us create this scholarship. The scientists who are now working on new discoveries might one day save the life of someone like Eric.”

The award presentation was emceed by Cosimo Commisso, PhD, and featured comments from Eric’s parents, as well as his brother, Bret.

“This scholarship fund is the best way we can honor Eric, because he was so passionate about education and supporting others,” says Bret. “The fact that he now helps other postdocs further their work to fight cancer is exactly what he would have wanted.”

Meet the recipient: Jia Zack Shen
Shen started at the Institute as a postdoctoral researcher in 2016, winning a Fishman Fund Award that year. He has since transitioned to a permanent role as a staff scientist, and the funding from this award will help continue to support his role.

“Sanford Burnham Prebys has a great, noncompetitive atmosphere, and the resources we have here are excellent,” says Shen. “Combining cancer research with the drug discovery capabilities we have at SBP is my dream.”

Shen’s research focuses on killing cancer stem cells by shutting off their ability to self-renew and by promoting a response from the immune system, delivering what Shen and his colleagues call a “one-two punch.” Shen has been working specifically on glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive brain cancers.

“Glioblastoma is one of the most devastating diseases, and there is a desperate need for better ways to treat it,” says Shen. “I am working hard to leverage the immune system to fight glioblastoma and save thousands of lives.”

Institute News

Boosting immunotherapy in aggressive brain cancer

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

November 3, 2021

Blue and orange illustration of human brain against black background

Researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys have collaborated the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute to reveal a new approach to enhance the effects of immunotherapy in glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant forms of brain cancer.

The study, published recently in Cancer Discovery, describes a novel method to ‘turn off’ cancer stem cells—the malignant cells that self-renew and sustain tumors—enabling the body’s own defense system to take charge and destroy tumors.

“Tumors are more than just masses of cells—each one is a complex system that relies on a vast network of chemical signals, proteins and different cell types to grow,” says senior author Charles Spruck, PhD, an assistant professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys. “This is part of why cancer is so difficult to treat, but it also presents us with opportunities to develop treatment strategies that target the machinery powering tumor cells rather than trying to destroy them outright.”

Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive form of cancer that affects the brain and the spinal cord. Occurring more often in older adults and forming about half of all malignant brain tumors, glioblastoma causes worsening headaches, seizures and nausea. And unfortunately for the thousands of people who receive this diagnosis each year, glioblastoma is most often fatal.

“We haven’t been able to cure glioblastoma with existing treatment methods because it’s just too aggressive,” says Spruck. “Most therapies are palliative, more about reducing suffering than destroying the cancer. This is something we hope our work will change.”

Immune checkpoint inhibitors—which help prevent cancer cells from hiding from the immune system—can be effective for certain forms of cancer in the brain, but their results in glioblastoma have been disappointing. The researchers sought a way to improve the effects of these medications.

“Modern cancer treatment rarely relies on just one strategy at a time,” says Spruck. “Sometimes you have to mix and match, using treatments to complement one another.”

The researchers used genomic sequencing to investigate glioblastoma stem cells. These cells are the source of the rapid and consistent regeneration of glioblastoma tumors that make them so difficult to treat.

The team successfully identified a protein complex called YY1-CDK9 as essential to the cells’ ability to express genes and produce proteins. By modifying the activity of this protein complex in the lab, the team was able to improve the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors in these cells. 

“Knocking out this transcription machinery makes it much more difficult for the cells to multiply” says Spruck. “They start to respond to chemical signals from the immune system that they would otherwise evade, giving immunotherapy a chance to take effect.” 

While the approach will need to be tested in clinical settings, the researchers are optimistic that it may provide a way to improve treatment outcomes for people with glioblastoma. 

“What our results tell us is that these cells are targetable by drugs we already have, so for patients, improving their treatment may just be a matter of adding another medication,” adds Spruck. “For a cancer as treatment-resistant as glioblastoma, this is a great step forward.”

Institute News

Enzymes could be key for brain cancer and Alzheimer’s disease

AuthorGuest Blogger
Date

December 9, 2014

header image

This post was written by Janelle Weaver, PhD, a freelance writer.

Animals ranging from fish to humans produce a vitamin-A metabolite called retinoic acid, which plays an important role in growth and embryonic development and protects against diseases such as cancer. By regulating the activity of key genes, retinoic acid causes immature cells called embryonic stem cells to turn into mature, specialized cells such as neurons. “Neurons—the building blocks of the nervous system—are particularly important cell types in therapy, due to the fact that they normally don’t reproduce or replace themselves after they become damaged,” said Laszlo Nagy, MD, PhD, director of the Genomic Control of Metabolism Program and professor in the Diabetes and Obesity Research Center at Sanford-Burnham’s Lake Nona campus. “Despite their crucial role, we still have a limited understanding regarding the molecular programs that coordinate their functionality.” Continue reading “Enzymes could be key for brain cancer and Alzheimer’s disease”