Personalized Medicine to Treat Malignant Brain Tumors

Scientists from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and Froedtert Hospital received a one-year, $20,000 grant from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin (CTSI) to investigate the use of personalized therapies to treat a common type of cancerous brain tumor, called glioblastoma multiforme.

The primary investigator is Shama Mirza, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry at (MCW). Co-primary investigators are Jennifer Connelly, MD, assistant professor of neurology at MCW and practicing neurologist at Froedtert Hospital; and Kathleen Schmainda, PhD, professor of radiology and biophysics at MCW.

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor. A drug called bevacizumab helps control progression of the recurrent tumor, but its efficacy varies widely among patients. The objective of this study is to identify the proteins responsible for inhibiting blood vessel growth in GBM, which could lead to better prediction of the success of bevacizumab therapy in individual patients.

This is one of 19 pilot projects being funded in 2012 through CTSI. The goal is to create synergy through collaboration, and studies are specifically designed to lead to major future research support. The projects explore findings that have the potential to be translated into clinical practice and community health, and are led by investigators at the CTSI’s eight partnering institutions: the Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, UW-Milwaukee, Froedtert Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, the VA Medical Center, and the BloodCenter of Wisconsin. 

CTSI is part of a national consortium of top medical research institutions. Working together, the CTSI institutions are committed to improve human health by streamlining science, transforming training environments and improving the conduct, quality and dissemination of clinical and translational research. The CTSI program is led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Support for the Pilot Award Program comes from the National Institutes of Health and the John and Jeanne Byrnes CTSI Award, and the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin program, and its Biotechnology and Bioengineering Center.