LOPEZ-BERTONI LAB
We are the Lopez-Bertoni Lab, an interdisciplinary Research Lab in the Department of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. We investigate novel concepts that underlie the molecular complexities of glioblastoma to leverage this knowledge to design advanced targeted therapies to improve patients outcome.
RESEARCH
Research at Lopez-Bertoni Lab involves a multidisciplinary approach aimed at bridging the gap between bench and bedside. We explore how reprogramming events that drive the stem cell phenotype of GBM cells contribute to tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. Since 2018, we have been driven by this mission of discovery to positively impact patients with GBM. Read on to find out more about our latest work.
CANCER STEM CELL PHENOTYPE
GBM is a highly aggressive malignant brain neoplasm that has a high mortality rate. Solid malignancies, including GBM, contain small subsets of cells that display stem-like properties (i.e. glioma stem cells or GSCs) and act as key determinants of therapeutic resistance and tumor recurrence. Transcriptional networks play crucial roles in determining tumor cell fate through the process of reprogramming, which allow neoplastic cells to transition between stem-like and non-stem-like states. Oct4 and Sox2 are transcription factors that can function as oncogenic drivers by establishing and/or enhancing the stem cell phenotype of cancer cells. Ongoing projects in collaboration with the Laterra lab look at understanding the wide-range of oncogenic phenotypes regulated by Oct4 and Sox2 in GBM cells.
Help propel Cancer Research forward
Cancer research moves forward in large part because of the generosity of cancer patients and their families, concerned individuals, foundations and organizations. Philanthropy helps us keep searching for innovative ways to impact cancer patients and their families. With your help, we can continue to make major strides in advancing our research and providing a better quality of life for those living with cancer.
Thank you.
If you would like to make a gift to support cancer research, please follow one of the links below:
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University – If you would like to donate directly to our lab, please chose “other” and type in “Lopez-Bertoni Lab”
CONTACT US
707 N Broadway St
Room 408
Baltimore, MD 21205