IPRD funded research by Qing-Xiang (Amy) Sang
Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) is rare pediatric brain tumor that is highly heterogeneous, invasive, and usually fatal. Current treatments for ATRT include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, which entail high risks of neurocognitive impairment and toxicities. Moreover, considerable molecular heterogeneity across ATRT subgroups potentially lowers treatment efficacy and complicates the development of novel treatment strategies. The ATRT subgroups are characterized by unique epigenomic and transcriptomic profiles. Subgroup-specific therapy development represents a major advancement toward achieving therapeutic precision and enhanced treatment outcomes. This research project will design and develop siRNAs (small interfering RNAs) platforms to silence subgroup-specific genes such as PTCH1 and GLI2 in ATRT-SHH and VEGFA as candidate therapeutic siRNAs.
Resources
- American Brain Tumor Association
- Boston Children’s Hospital
- National Cancer Institute
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
News
An IPRD-funded research team, led by Qing-Xiang Amy Sang, Ph.D., at the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is making groundbreaking progress in research on the treatment of rare pediatric brain tumors, including Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) and Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). Sang’s lab is pioneering the development of innovative therapies offering new hope for ATRT and DIPG patients.
Drishty Sarker, Yue Xue, and Sonia Kiran, PhD students in the Sang lab present their research on gene expression patterns in ATRT and DIPG and cell-cell interactions within the tumor microenvironment. The team’s work includes contributions from other students, including Faiza Mahmud, Uvindu Thilanka Dasili Wickramasinghe, Jonathan Jocelyn, Marian Gonzalez, Sophia Martinez, and Fiona Dininger.