Page 50 - Hormel Institute Annual Report 2021-22

James Robinson, PhD
“Our research is helping to identify the causes of
pediatric brain tumors and melanoma and points the
way to improved methods of diagnosis and treatment.”
James Robinson
50 | THE HORMEL INSTITUTE // UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Cell Signaling and Tumorigenesis
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Our lab is concerned with the molecular mechanisms by which oncogenic signaling regulates tumorigenesis, with the ultimate
goal of developing and improving existing therapeutic approaches to eliminate cancer. We have and will continue to collaborate with world- wide experts in cell signaling, cancer research comparative pathology and genetics to accom- plish our goals.
Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumor. Glioblastoma (GBM), the highest grade of glioma (most lethal), is highly infiltrative, and is resistant to all conventional therapies. Patients with this cancer rarely survive longer than 12-14
months from the time the tumor is diagnosed. Pediatric GBM is clinically and biologically
distinct from the adult disease. It typically devel- ops in the midline or pons. While even the lowest grade of glioma in children Pilocytic astrocytoma is associated with significant morbidity diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a GBM of the brain stem confers the worst prognosis of any pediatric cancer. It has a 5-year survival rate of <1%, a 1-year survival of <30% and 2 -year survival of <10 %; median survival is < 9 months. Pediatric GBM is defined by mutations in the gene encoding Histone H3.3. We are developing an animal model to study this disease. In collaboration with the Hinchcliffe lab at The Hormel Institute, we seek