Principal Investigator
David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD
David Gutmann received his undergraduate, graduate (PhD) and medical (MD) degrees from the University of Michigan, where he trained in immunogenetics in the laboratory of Dr. John Niederhuber. During his residency in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, he worked with Dr. Kenneth Fischbeck who sparked his interest in neurogenetics. He then returned to the University of Michigan for research fellowship training in Human Genetics with Dr. Francis Collins. During that time, he identified the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) protein and began to elucidate its function as a negative RAS regulator. In late 1993, Dr. Gutmann was recruited to Washington University, becoming a full professor in 2001 and the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor in 2002. He established the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Neurofibromatosis Clinical Program in 1994 and the Washington University Neurofibromatosis Center in 2004.
Dr. Gutmann also founded and directs one of the world’s largest centers focused on NF and related disorders, trained numerous clinicians and researchers in NF in collaborative crossdisciplinary research, and developed several innovative community-based therapy programs to provide integrated medical care for this population across the lifespan. Moreover, he has led numerous international efforts to establish medical practice guidelines for the field and facilitate the translation of laboratory and clinical discoveries to improved patient care, including several human molecularly-targeted therapeutic trials. As part of his commitment to training and global partnerships, Dr. Gutmann developed an international inherited cancer syndrome tumor board with colleagues in Pediatric Oncology that currently serves 32 institutions in 23 countries worldwide. Leveraging a five-year Berlin Institute of Health fellowship, he established an investigative team at the Max Delbrück Center with Professor Helmut Kettenmann to provide international training opportunities and research partnerships. Lastly, Dr. Gutmann is committed to the training of biomedical scientists as evidenced by his service as Vice Chair for Research Affairs in the Department of Neurology, a member of the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (graduate school) Executive Faculty, a member of the Promotions Committee in the Departments of Neurology and Developmental Biology, and as co-PI for the NINDS Neurology T32 and Neurosurgery/Neurology R25 resident postgraduate training programs.
Dr. Gutmann has published over 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and his research laboratory has been continuous funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1993, including a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke R35 Research Program (MERIT) Award. In addition, he has been recognized for his achievements with numerous awards, including the 2012 Children’s Tumor Foundation Frederich von Recklinghausen Lifetime Achievement Award, a 2013 Washington University Distinguished Faculty Research Award, a 2017 Alexander von Humboldt Award, the 2019 Society for Neuro-Oncology Abhijit Guha Award, the 2020 National Neurofibromatosis Network Advocate of Hope Award, the 2020 American Academy of Neurology Neuro-Oncology Scientific Award, and the 2020 American Association of Neurology triennial George W. Jacoby Award. He is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, the Association of American Physicians, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Academy of Medicine, as well as a former member of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Advisory Council.
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Corina Anastasaki, PhD
Assistant Professor in Neurology
Education:
BSc, Genetics, University of York, 2006
MSc, Human Genetics, University of Edinburgh, 2007
PhD in Human Genetics, University of Edinburgh, 2011
Research Focus:
Discovering new approaches (utilizing iPSCs) to identify targets for managing NF1 neuronal dysfunction
View Dr. Anastasaki’s publications
Yunshuo “Caroline” Tang, MD, PhD
Instructor in Neurology
Education:
BA, University of California, Berkeley, 2005
PhD, University of California, San Francisco, 2015
MD, University of California, San Francisco, 2017
Research Focus:
My research focuses on defining why retinal ganglion cells die in the setting of Nf1 optic glioma, and result in vision loss. I am using a variety of approaches, including single cell RNA sequencing, to determine which RGC subtypes are most susceptible to optic glioma-induced death, and to leverage these findings to identify new treatments to reduce vision loss.
Olivia Cobb, MS
Education:
BA, Liberal Arts, Thomas Aquinas College, 2016
MS, Biostatistics, Washington University in St. Louis, Expected Graduation Dec 2019
Research Focus:
Bioinformatic analytics for laboratory projects
Stephanie Bozeman, BS
Education:
BS, Biochemistry, Missouri Southern State University
Research Focus:
Preventing vision loss from NF1 optic gliomas in mice
Yunqing (Clare) Gao, BA
Education:
BA, Biology, Boston University 2022
Research Focus:
Neuronal regulation of brain tumor growth
Michelle Lambert, BS
Education:
BS, Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, 2014
Research Focus:
Human induced pluripotent stem modeling of brain tumors in NF1
Xuanhe “Dahlia” Qi, BA
Education:
BA, Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, 2022
Research Focus:
Modeling low-grade brain tumors in mice
Rasha Barakat, PhD
Education:
MSc, Neuroscience, American University of Beirut
PhD in Neurobiology, Université De Paris
Research Focus:
T cell trafficking and stromal interactions in brain tumors
Alexander Chen, PhD
Education:
BA, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
PhD in Cancer Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Research Focus:
Exploring the role of cell of origin in pediatric brain tumors
Jit Chatterjee, PhD
Education:
BSc, Fergusson College, Pune, India
MSc, MS University Baroda, Gujarat, India
PhD in Neurobiology, Department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, Mangalore, India
Research Focus:
The role of T cells in experimental glioma models
Lucy Boggs, BS
Education:
BS, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2022
Pursuing MSBIS, Washington University in St. Louis
Maria Guerra Garcia, BS
Education:
BS, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2019
Pursuing PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working on human induced pluripotent stem modeling of malignant brain tumors in NF1
Rui Mu, BS
Education:
BS, Capital Medical University, 2022
Pursuing MSBIS, Washington University in St. Louis
Talia Eligator, BA
Education:
BA, Neuroscience & Science in Society, Wesleyan University, 2023
Research Focus:
Ecosystem modeling of pediatric brain tumors for precision therapeutics
Anna Gabrielsen, BS
Education:
BS, Neuroscience & Cognitive Science, University of Arizona, 2022
Research Focus:
Neuronal control of nerve sheath tumor growth
Laura Wang, BA
Education:
BA, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, 2023
Research Focus:
Working with Corina Anastasaki, PhD
Tyler Atsumi
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Corina Anastasaki on genetic modifiers of autism in NF1
Angelica Barnes
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Rasha Barakat on immune regulation of NF1 brain tumor growth
Karen Gao
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Rasha Barakat on T cell trafficking in mouse models of pediatric brain cancer
Leah Karush
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Anna Wilson on autism risk genes in NF1
Chloe Kernan
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Corina Anastasaki on developing humanized models of pediatric brain tumors
Lara Isabel Marco Y Marquez
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Jit Chatterjee on understanding immune cell control of brain tumors
Megan Ouyang
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Jit Chatterjee
Hannah Wang
Education:
Pursuing undergraduate degree, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Focus:
Working with Alex Chen on analyzing the requirements for tumor formation using human induced pluripotent stem cell engineering