Pediatric Oncology
Dr. Irwin Bernstein, Program Head
The overall aim of the Pediatric Oncology Program is to improve the outcome for children with malignancy. Since its inception, research in this program has focused on developmental aspects of hematopoiesis with the specific goal of developing novel therapeutic modalities. In these efforts we have identified maturation linked cell surface antigens and have utilized this information for developing methods for targeted therapy of hematologic malignancies and for isolating and characterizing normal and malignant human hematopoietic stem cells. These studies have led to the development of stem cell transplantation using isolated CD34+ cells, successful targeted radiotherapy of leukemia and lymphoma, and the development of a novel approach for treating AML using an antibody-drug conjugate. More recent studies have determined methods for increasing hematopoietic stem cell numbers by inducing Notch signaling. A newly established program in solid tumors focuses on evaluating methods to induce neuronal differentiation and apoptosis, develop genetic models of medulloblastoma in mice, and identify biologically distinct subclasses of neuroectodermal tumors based on neurodevelopmental gene expression patterns.
1100 Fairview Ave. N. PO Box 19024 Seattle, WA 98109
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