Recent Advances

Neurodevelopmental disorders are often caused by losses of large pieces of chromosomes containing many genes. This is also true for a subset of individuals with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who have severe developmental delays and intellectual disabilities. These NF1 patients often harbor a large deletion involving the NF1 gene on chromosome 17q11.2, termed a total […]

Based on the pioneering work of our collaborator, Dr. Michelle Monje at Stanford University, we now appreciate that the activity of neurons can increase the growth of cancer cells. While the role of nerve cells in tumor progression is becoming better understood, the importance of neuronal activity to tumor formation is less clear, particularly in […]

Defining the neuroimmune-cancer cell axis For the past 25 years, my laboratory has developed and employed genetically engineered mice to understand why brain tumors form in children with the Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome1. Using these authenticated preclinical mouse models of NF1-associated optic gliomas (low-grade astrocytomas of the optic nerves)2, we showed that […]