Home Department: Biology
Mentor: Michelle Monje (Neurology & Neurological Sciences)

“Targeting Voltage-Sensitive Mechanisms of Glioma Growth”

High-grade gliomas are aggressive brain tumors whose progression is regulated by neuronal activity and the brain microenvironment. Professor Michelle Monje’s laboratory discovered that glioma membrane depolarization promotes glioma growth through unknown voltage-regulated signaling mechanisms. Results from a CRISPR/Cas9-based genetic screening suggest that voltage-gated calcium channels may be crucial in converting electrical activity to promote glioma growth. Eu Jin will validate the candidate calcium channels using genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition in neuron-glioma co-culture. This project is in the intersection between neuroscience and cancer biology and may identify novel therapeutic targets for glioma.