Director:

Jeffrey J. Olson, MD

Collaborators:

Dr. Mark Goodman
Director, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Chemistry Laboratory; develops amino acids for testing in brain tumor imaging models

Dr. Raymond Shinazi
Specializes in boron biochemistry; contributes compounds for boron neutron cancer therapy studies

Erwin Van Meir, PhD
Director, Laboratory of Molecular Neuro-Oncology

The Lab:

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges to a physician treating a patient with an extremely malignant and aggressive brain tumor is the tumor's resistance to conventional treatments. The tumor is surgically resected but it grows back; treatment with chemotherapy generates multidrug resistance genes that cause further chemotherapy treatments to be ineffective; and mutations in the tumor cells protect them from irradiation. Faced with these obstacles, researchers have been rethinking their approach to treating malignant brain tumors. Our ability to understand the processes and effects of cell cycle regulation is key to identifying new methods to treat malignant tumor cells.

Dr. Olson's research is currently involved in the following ongoing projects aimed at identifying novel treatments for aggressive brain tumors :

1. Characterization of interferon alpha signal transduction in therapy of malignant brain tumors

2. Gene transfer efficiency in brain tumor models in vitro and in vivo

3. Boron neutron capture therapy with novel boronated compounds

4. Study of synthetic amino acids pharmacokinetics and biodistribution to improve tumor imaging

5. Development of an implanted balloon tipped catheter for radiation and chemotherapy delivery

Techniques employed in the laboratory include:

• In vitro and in vivo brain tumor models
• Tumor protein, DNA and RNA analysis
• Drug and biological response modifier pharmacokinetic analysis
• Assessment of synthetic amino acid metabolism and distribution

Sources of funding for this laboratory include:
Department of Energy
National Cancer Institute
Proxima Therapeutics, Inc.
Schering-Plough Research Institute

This laboratory has proven to be a practical site for training in laboratory research and for application of research ideas directly related to clinical questions and protocols.