2024-25 GRANT Award Details

Seed Grant Grantee: Boston Children’s Hospital
Project Lead: Christopher A. Walsh, MD, PHD
Primary Investigator: Thalia Preka, PHD
Grant Title: Investigating somatic mosaicism and tumor seed cells in glioblastoma
Program Area: Glioblastoma
Grant Type: UKF Seed Grant
Year Awarded: 2025-26
Amount: $50,000
Duration: 1 year

Summary: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the deadliest brain tumor. Even after aggressive treatment, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the tumor almost always comes back. This is thought to be the result of a small number of tumor seed cells surviving in seemingly healthy areas of the brain, even far away from the original tumor. These still “silent” tumor cells, resembling normal brain cell types, are believed to start the process of tumor regrowth, but little is known about what makes them different, how they arise, or how they interact and escape detection by the surrounding brain environment. This project aims to uncover the origins of GBM by studying the first genetic changes happening in these seed cells that divert them from normal brain cell development and turn them to tumor seed cells. We will use precious post-mortem brain tissues from GBM patients and apply a cutting-edge method that allows us to examine single brain cells in unprecedented detail. This technology can simultaneously detect genetic mutations, measure which genes are active, and assess the chemical marks that regulate gene activity. By combining this with advanced spatial methods, we will not only identify the mutations that spark GBM but also map where these seed cells hide in the brain and how they interact with nearby microglia—the brain’s immune cells and first point of contact in the brain. The outcome will be the first detailed atlas of how GBM begins, from the initial mutated cell through its first interactions with the brain’s immune system. By identifying the earliest, most vulnerable stages , this work could point to new ways to detect the disease earlier and design therapies that directly target the roots of GBM, preventing its recurrence, giving patients a better chance of long-term survival.

SEED GRANT

Grantee: City of Hope
Co Project Lead: Michael A Caligiuri, MD
Co Project Lead: Yuanyuan Yang, MD
Grant Title: A novel viral and immunological approach to the treatment of glioblastoma
Grant Type: UKF Seed Grant
Year Awarded: 2025-26
Amount: $50,000
Duration: 1 year

Summary: This proposal seeks to combine the two types of therapy for brain tumors. One is a virus that commonly infects the brain and causes disease. However, City of Hope, a national cancer research and treatment organization, has engineered the virus such that it only infects the brain tumor, leaving the normal brain tissue unaffected. When it infects the brain tumor, it explodes, killing tumor cells. Second, City of Hope has engineered the virus to attract immune cells to the brain tumor and, once they arrive, to provide them with an extra charge to kill the brain cancer. The tools City of Hope has developed for these experiments are unique worldwide. 

SEED GRANT

Grantee: Duke University
Project Lead: Kristen Batich Vaios, MD, PHD 
Grant Title: Augmenting Glioblastoma Dendritic Cell Surveillance In Aged Hosts Using A Novel Immunochemokine
Program Area: Glioblastoma
Grant Type: UKF Seed Grant
Year Awarded: 2025-26
Amount: $50,000
Duration: 1 year

Summary: The long-term goal for this project is to develop effective treatments that improve the survival outcomes for patients with glioblastoma. This proposal builds upon our prior preclinical and clinical data that shows 1) dendritic cell migration to draining lymph nodes is required for effective immune responses against intracranial cancers, and 2) older patients have worse outcomes in response to glioblastoma therapies than younger populations. As such, determining how immune surveillance is altered, and can be improved, in older glioblastoma populations will enhance patient outcomes. This proposal is highly significant because it not only deepens the understanding of the relationship between glioblastoma and the central nervous system-draining lymphatics, it specifically determines how this process is affected by aging. We will use our novel immunochemokine mVEGFC-XCL1 designed in our laboratory to enhance lymphatic drainage, facilitating the migration of dendritic cells to the central nervous system-draining lymph nodes, and promote the activation of T cells and other immune effector responses in preclinical models of glioblastoma. This project is also innovative because of our ability to study patient-derived dendritic cell vaccines in the context of younger and aged patients. Improvements in immune surveillance, antigen presentation, and T cell-mediated tumor killing will ultimately ensure our work will guide the development of novel immunotherapeutics for glioblastoma and other primary and metastatic cancers of the brain.

SEED GRANT

Grantee: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Project Lead: Eran Blacher, PHD
Grant Title: Gut-derived immune cells drive glioma progression in aging: from mouse models to human validation
Program Area: Glioma
Grant Type: UKF Seed Grant
Year Awarded: 2025-26
Amount: $50,000
Duration: 1 year

Summary: Gliomas are deadly brain cancers, in which the immune system in our gut might play a surprising role in how these tumors grow. This project explores how immune cells from the gut might travel to the brain and influence gliomas, possibly even speeding up tumor growth. It's a surprising idea, but it matters because gliomas are so hard to treat, especially in older patients who often have a weaker gut lining and more inflammation. If this gut–brain link is clinically meaningful, it could open up new ways to fight glioma. For example, clinicians might one day treat patients by strengthening gut health or adjusting gut bacteria to slow down brain tumors. Our research could also help physicians spot aggressive tumors earlier by revealing gut-related warning signs.

RENEWAL GRANT

Grantee: The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Project Lead: Satoru Osuka, MD, PHD
Grant Title: Targeting Recurrent Glioblastoma Cells Using Collagen-Binding IL-12 and IL-7
Program Area: Glioblastoma
Grant Type: UKF Seed Grant
Year Awarded: 2024 and 2025-26
Amount: $100,000
Duration: 2 years

Summary: This project aims to develop a new treatment for recurrent glioblastoma. We have created special forms of two immune-boosting proteins, CBD-IL-12 and CBD-IL-7, that can target the unique environment of glioblastoma tumors. These modified proteins are designed to accumulate in the tumor area without affecting healthy tissues, potentially reducing side effects. By combining these two proteins, we hopes to stimulate the immune system to fight tumor cells more effectively, particularly by preventing immune cells from becoming "exhausted" in their battle against the tumor. The study will test this approach in mouse models of recurrent glioblastoma to determine if it can shrink tumors and extend survival. If successful, this research could lead to a new, safer, and more effective treatment option for patients with recurrent glioblastoma, addressing a critical need in brain cancer therapy.

RENEWAL GRANT

Grantee: City of Hope
Project Lead: Qi Cui, PHD
Grant Title: Targeting non-coding RNA pseudouridine modification for glioblastoma therapy
Grant Type: UKF Seed Grant
Year Awarded: 2024 And 2025-26
Amount: $100,000
Duration: 2 years

Summary: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. It is believed that GBM stem cells (GSCs) confer the treatment resistance and tumor recurrence for GBM. In this study, we aim to define the role of pseudouridine modification of non-coding RNA in GBM with the aim to develop novel GBM therapies by targeting this pathway. Specifically, we will investigate the regulation of noncoding RNA pseudouridine modification on GSC growth and tumorigenesis and the underlying mechanisms in this study. If successful, this study will lay a foundation for novel therapeutic development for GBM by targeting RNA pseudouridine modification and its regulatory pathways.

F.L.A.G. RENEWAL GRANT

Grantee: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Project Lead: Dr. Katrina O’Halloran & Dr. Ashley Margol
Grant Title: Cerebrospinal fluid liquid biopsy in pediatric embryonal central nervous system tumors
Grant Type: F.L.A.G Grant
Year Awarded: 2024 and 2025-26
Amount: $100,000
Duration: 2 years

Summary: Brain and spinal cord tumors continue to be a major cause of both illness and death in children. Tumor DNA sequencing has provided important insight into the drivers of different cancers. Detecting tumor DNA in spinal fluid by performing DNA sequencing as a “liquid biopsy” can help in making a diagnosis, monitoring response to treatment, and predicting risk for relapse. For example, researchers have shown that if medulloblastoma DNA is detectable at the completion of therapy, there is higher risk for relapse for that child.

Liquid biopsy technology using spinal fluid has been developed at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In pilot studies, the platform successfully detected a variety of tumor DNA alterations in various tumors including medulloblastoma, ependymoma, atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, diffuse midline glioma (including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), high grade glioma and low-grade tumors (including pilocytic astrocytoma). In this project we propose serial spinal fluid liquid biopsy assessments in children diagnosed with embryonal brain and spinal cord tumors.  Liquid biopsies will be performed at diagnosis, during treatment, at the end of therapy, during surveillance and at relapse.

Importantly, results of liquid biopsy testing will be provided as a report and the clinical team may use this information to modify and optimize treatment.  In numerous prior patients, a liquid biopsy in conjunction with the overall clinical picture has led to a change in therapy for personalized treatment. It is our hope that this technology will help to improve outcomes for children with brain and spinal cord tumors.