Non-coding Genetic Events in Medulloblastoma and Ependymoma

Transposable elements (TEs) are sequences of DNA that can change their position within a genome. Researchers working on this project hypothesize that TEs have a role in genomic evolution of high grade gliomas (HGGs). Researchers also hypothesize that transposition events are key in the development of other pediatric brain cancers, including medulloblastomas and ependymomas. Pediatric tumors tend to have lower mutational loads than their adult counterparts. This means the tumor genome has less changes to it overall, proposing that non-gene related changes (called epigenetic influences) caused by such transposition events are important in driving cancers in children. The goals of this project are to identify transposition events, to identify active transposition events during tumor evolution, and to determine how transposition events promote tumor growth. Because genetic events alone do not explain the evolution of pediatric brain cancers, studies of this nature could deliver important new insight into the factors that drive or contribute tumor initiation, growth and relapse. This research will be possible through access to Whole Genome Sequencing data in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas.