Damon Runyon Researchers

Dr. Eldred is focusing on retinoblastoma, a tumor of the eye that primarily occurs in children. She is developing three-dimensional tissue cultures that replicate the complexity of the human retina. Using these retinal “organoid” models, Dr. Eldred will generate mutations of the retinoblastoma (RB1) gene in previously healthy tissue to observe the effects of different mutations on the formation and growth of retinoblastoma. She hopes this will also shed light on the roles of tumor-causing oncogenes and tumor suppressors involved in retinoblastoma progression. A deeper understanding of specific RB1 mutations may guide the prevention, diagnosis, and development of individualized treatment plans for patients with retinoblastoma and other cancers involving mutations in the RB1 pathway.