Radiation therapy plays an integral role of the treatment of many CNS malignancies. The goals of our laboratory are two-fold: To improve radiotherapy for glioblastoma and prevent radiation-induced malignancies.

Specifically, we are interested in improving the efficacy of chemoradiation treatment for glioblastoma. One effective radiosensitizer is hyperthermia. We aim to understand the mechanism by which heat sensitizes glioma stem cells to radiation and chemotherapy.

While radiation therapy can help to cure cancer, long-term survivors of cancer, particularly pediatric cancer survivors, are at increased risk of developing radiation-induced malignancies. Using a p53 mutant mouse model, we aim to identify the molecular drivers of secondary malignancies, with a long-term goal of prevention. We are also interested in using this model to identify the cell-of-origin of these radiation-induced cancers.