Childhood brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children and are difficult to treat without long-term side effects. In this project, Dr Cooper and her team will investigate how immune defences in the brain develop during childhood and how brain tumours hijack these defences to avoid detection.
The team’s overall aim is to identify which immune pathways are disrupted and then to test ways to restore them, thereby uncovering new ways to boost the immune response against tumours.
Childhood brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children and are difficult to treat without long-term side effects. Despite advances in surgery and radiotherapy, survival remains poor for many children, and survivors often face lasting cognitive and physical impairments. Immune therapies have transformed treatment for some adult cancers but have shown limited success in children with brain tumours.
In this project, Dr Cooper and her team will investigate how immune defences in the brain develop during childhood and how brain tumours hijack these defences to avoid detection. They will explore whether tumour signals alter immune cells in the brain lining and skull bone marrow, weakening the body's natural ability to respond to cancer. Their overall aim is to identify which immune pathways are disrupted and then to test ways to restore them.
We know that childhood brain tumours can trick the body’s immune system, helping the cancer grow unchecked. More specifically, tumours may take advantage of the “immature” immune environment of the brain in early childhood to avoid being attacked by the body’s usual immune defences. However, it is not yet fully understand how the immature immune environment and the tumours interact to suppress the immune system.
To understand how the immune system around the brain develops, Dr Cooper and her team will use specially designed models that they have created that develop brain tumours during a similar time frame, and with similar drivers, to those in children. By comparing tissues at key developmental time points that do and do not harbour a brain tumour, the team can determine which changes occurring during normal brain development might create vulnerabilities that allow tumours to escape recognition.
By understanding which processes in normal development might be allowing brain tumours to go unrecognised, the team can then use tools to tweak these processes to test whether these tweaks might prevent tumour development or reduce tumour growth.
This project will reveal how the brain’s immune system develops and how childhood brain tumours exploit natural weaknesses to avoid immune system attack. This understanding will help uncover new ways to boost the immune response against tumours. The work combines developmental biology with cancer research, aiming to find safer, more effective treatments for children with brain tumours. Ultimately, this could improve survival and reduce the side effects of current therapies, benefiting patients and their families.
This project is led by Dr Cooper, an expert dedicated to advancing treatments for childhood brain tumours. Under Dr Cooper’s guidance, the research team brings together a unique mix of specialists with the skills and experience needed to make real progress.
Professor Richard Gilbertson is a world leader in cancer research, focusing on genetic models and developing new therapies to help children with brain tumours. Professor Arnold Kriegstein studies how the brain develops, giving us insight into how early brain changes may contribute to tumour growth. Associate Professor Richard Mair, a neurosurgeon and scientist, bridges lab research with patient care by investigating how tumours grow and designing clinical trials. Clinical experts Mr. Thomas Santarius and Mr. Ibrahim Jalloh are skilled neurosurgeons who bring vital knowledge of brain anatomy and surgical treatments for children and adults, ensuring our research is grounded
in real patient needs. Finally, Professor Jordan Hansford leads paediatric brain tumour research programs that provide access to important patient samples and clinical trials, helping us move discoveries from the lab into the clinic.
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