Glioblastoma Research Projects
MOON SHOTS PROGRAM
- Cancer Types
- Glioblastoma
- Glioblastoma Research
Glioblastoma Priority Projects
Through its priority projects, the Glioblastoma Moon Shot® is conducting impactful research in the lab and clinic to improve the lives of patients. Research efforts aim to better understand glioblastoma, develop innovative new therapies and conduct transformational clinical trials.
CATALYST
DISCOVER
CNS Tumor AnaLYsis STream (CATALYST), exemplifies the team science approach of the Moon Shots Program®. Comprising efforts across several departments and Moon Shot platforms, CATALYST aims to create comprehensive profiles of patients by profiling every available biospecimen: tumor tissue with matching cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood and stool. Access to patients’ biospecimens is provided to multiple PIs, allowing them to perform cross functional analyses — sequencing samples, generating mouse models and understanding the spatial distribution of unique cell populations within patients’ tumors. This intricately coordinated effort for biospecimen analyses will uncover correlations between tumor tissue and the biomarkers in a patient’s blood, CSF and gut microbiome. CATALYST will be the most comprehensive analysis of glioma specimens ever completed, enabling us to better understand central nervous system tumors and design novel therapies to fight them.
The goals of this project are to:
- Define genetic and epigenetic signatures of brain tumors thought molecular profiling
- Establish a better understanding of the immune landscape in gliomas
- Identify glioma-specific biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid and blood, and develop non-invasive approaches to diagnose glioma, follow tumor progression, and assess treatment response
- Characterize and correlate oral, gut, and tumor microbiomes to determine whether and how the microbiome affects tumor biology, treatment responses, and overall patient outcomes
Recent publications:
ACCELERATE
DEVELOP
By way of Analysis of Central Nervous System Cancer Response to Experimental Agents and Resistance to Therapy (ACCELERATE), researchers evaluate and vet potential new therapies for gliomas through a rigorous testing pipeline which includes in vitro cell culture models, ex vivo organotypic slice culture models, and in vivo mouse and zebrafish glioma models. Several new therapeutic agents, including one agent developed against a target identified through Project 1, are being tested through ACCELERATE with the overall goal of bringing new agents to Phase 1 clinical trials. This project also focuses on identifying mechanisms of treatment resistance in gliomas and determining rational combination therapy strategies.
Recent publications:
Genetically Engineered Natural Killer Cell Therapy
DEPLOY
Key findings from our team led to the discovery that natural killer (NK) cells, a unique part of our immune system, are suppressed by the glioblastoma microenvironment. This finding propelled the creation of genetically modified NK cells to resist this immune suppression and studies have demonstrated that these cells are safe and effective against glioblastomas in pre-clinical models. Therefore, the goals this project are to:
- Conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of these engineered NK cells in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.
- Evaluate the efficacy of NK cells used in the trial in the laboratory as part of a co-clinical trial.
- Characterize the immune microenvironment and fate of injected NK cells.
News: Engineered NK cells can eliminate glioblastoma stem cells
Recent publications: