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Funded Grants

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Molecular origins of childhood brain cancer

Project Overview

Pediatric high-grade gliomas are incurable brain cancers. Sequencing the tumor specimens has shown that most cases do not have obvious mutations that are known to cause cancer. It is therefore not known what causes, or “drives,” these cancers. Identifying cancer drivers is a fundamental step in designing new treatments. We have generated data showing that some mutations in pediatric high-grade gliomas occur not in genes, but in the “switches” for genes. These switches have key roles in making sure that a gene is switched on at the right level (not too little, not too much). We propose that some of the mutations found in switches cause some genes to be turned on too much, or to be turned off even if they are needed for normal cell function. Our work is aimed at uncovering which mutations in switches have important roles for the initiation and progression of these pediatric brain cancers, as a first step toward the design of effective treatments

Principal Investigator

Marco Gallo , University of Calgary

Partners and Donors

The Azrieli Foundation

Project Ongoing

Molecular origins of childhood brain cancer

  • Program Type

    Capacity building grants

  • Area of research

    Cancer

  • Disease Area

    Brain Cancer

  • Competition

    Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research

  • Province

    Alberta

  • Start Date

    2020

  • Total Grant Amount

    $100,000

  • Health Canada Contribution

    $50,000

Contact Us

1200 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec
H3B 4G7

+1 (514) 989-2989 info@braincanada.ca

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Territorial acknowledgement

The offices of Brain Canada Foundation are located on the traditional, ancestral territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Peoples, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. We honour and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging, and dedicate ourselves to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and reconciliation. In our work, we focus our efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly those that pertain to improving health for Indigenous Peoples and that focus on advancing our own learning on Indigenous issues.

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