Identification and functional targeting of alternative splice site usage in pediatric high-grade gliomas

This project focuses on understanding how abnormal gene splicing—an essential process that can change how genes are read and how proteins are made—controls the growth of these tumors. By studying these splicing errors, we aim to uncover new therapeutic targets that have never been considered before. Building on our lab’s previous discoveries, we will identify tumor-specific splicing events, including some known as neoepitopes, which are like flags displayed on the surface of cancer cells. These unique markers could be targeted with customized immunotherapies. By comparing the splicing patterns of tumor cells to healthy brain tissue and linking these patterns to protein changes, we hope to develop strategies that attack tumor cells while sparing normal ones.