Damon Runyon Researchers

Dr. Taylor is investigating the impact of neural activity on pediatric high-grade glioma (pHGG) invasion. The innate ability of pHGGs to diffusely infiltrate healthy brain tissue is a classical hallmark of the disease, which represents a major contributor to the devastating prognosis. Using optogenetic techniques to stimulate neuronal activity, she will directly and noninvasively test the effect of activity-dependent secreted proteins on tumor cell invasion in human cancer cells and animal models. She plans to confirm the pro-infiltrative effect of candidate proteins on pHGG and subsequently uncover the mechanisms by which they alter the molecular dynamics of the tumor cell. Her hope is to highlight a novel means by which the neural microenvironment drives glioma progression and most importantly identify a new set of therapeutic targets to limit glioma spread.