Recipients of the Brain Cancer Research Awards
Peter Canoll, M.D., Ph.D.
Columbia University, New York
2002 Sontag Foundation/American Brain Tumor Association Research Fellowship
Grant Award: $70,000 ($35,000/year in 2002 and 2003)
-- Dr. Peter Canoll
About Dr. Canoll's Research:
Investigating the Role of Eph-Ephrin Interactions in Glioma Migration
Glioma cells have a remarkable capacity to infiltrate the brain and migrate long distances along nerve fibers and blood vessels. This diffuse infiltration is the main reason why many primary brain tumors, such as glioblastomas, astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas, are not curable by surgery. Even wide surgical resections inevitably leave some glioma cells behind and the tumors eventually recur. Our goal is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate glioma migration. Towards this end, we have developed an experimental system to monitor glioma cells migrating in living slices of rat brain using time-lapse videomicroscopy. We are using this system to test the effects of specific guidance molecules on glioma migration. Our initial analysis is focused on a group of molecules called Eph receptors and their binding partners the ephrins. Eph-ephrin signaling mediators is repulsive and adhesive mechanisms that guide migrating cells during embryonic development. We hypothesize that these molecules play a similar role in glioma migration. To test this we interfere with Eph-ephrin signaling using molecular and pharmacological techniques and then measure the effects on glioma migration in the rat model. We hope that this research will lead to the development of new strategies to treat adult and pediatric gliomas.
