Philip Beachy, Ph.D. and Michelle Monje, M.D.
2010-2011 funding
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a devastating childhood brain tumor that is poorly understood and universally fatal. Progress to date has been limited by a lack of faithful experimental model systems. We have overcome this impasse by generating new DIPG cell lines and xenograft model systems. Using these new resources, we have identified the Hedgehog pathway as a potential therapeutic target in DIPG. In this proposal, we seek to delineate the role of the Hedgehog pathway in DIPG tumor propagation and to test the effects of Hedgehog inhibition on DIPG growth.
Thank you to Jenny Hahn for her generous donation in memory of Ian Hahn in support of this grant.