Brain Tumor Center Seminars & Events
The Brain Tumor Program hosts strategic initiatives to educate and engage faculty, administrators, trainees, scientists and stakeholders:
Seminar Series: The series was introduced in 2011 and aims to expose our trainees, faculty and brain tumor researchers in the Texas Medical Center to various hot topics and leaders in brain tumors and cancer-related central nervous system pathology. The virtual presentations are held on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. Central Time via Zoom. The seminars have an educational component for trainees and junior faculty.
Strategic Events: These initiatives are related to academic year priority objectives and include meetings, symposiums and workshops designed to discuss scientific developments and advancements.
2025 Seminars
May 23
Robyn Gartrell, M.D., M.S.
May 16
Qi Ye, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
April 18
¡°Liquid Biopsies in the Diagnosis and Monitoring of CNS Tumors¡±
Leomar Ballester, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor with dual appointment in the Department of Pathology as well as the Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
April 11
¡°Evaluating Immune Evasion Programs in IDH Mutant Gliomas¡±
Nduka M. Amankulor, M.D., Division Chief, Section of Neurosurgical Oncology, Director, Brain Tumor Center, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania
March 28
¡°Glioblastoma: Modeling A Complex Aberrant Neurodevelopmental Organ¡±
Howard A. Fine, M.D., Chief, Division of Neuro-Oncology, Department of Neurology, Director, Brain Tumor Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York
March 7
"CD8 T cell function in brain tumors"
William H. Hudson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
February 21
"Lessons Learned from a Half Century of Life Spent in Critical Thinking and Diagnostic Medicine"
Gregory N. Fuller, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of Anatomical Pathology, Former Professor of Neuropathology and Neuroradiology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
February 14
"Novel murine glioblastoma models that reflect the immunotherapy resistance profile of a human disease"
Chao-Hsien (Alex) Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Stanley H. Appel Department of Neurology,?Houston Methodist Neurological Institute
BTC Distinguished Lecture Series
Through the BTC Distinguished Lecture Series, members of the Brain Tumor Program invite leading brain tumor research and physician scientists to visit MD Anderson and speak on their latest advancements in brain tumor research. This collaboration brings the best and brightest minds in the field to share in-depth knowledge and findings to MD Anderson trainees, faculty and staff.
NEU-SION (Neuro-Oncology Expertise Unifying for Strategic Integrated Oncology Neuro trials)
March 26, 2025 Meeting | Translating Basic Science to Clinical Trials
Focus: Proof-to-Practice Pathway, aiming to identify concepts ready for translation into clinical trials. Christopher Chad Quarles, Ph.D., professor, Cancer Systems Imaging, presented "Academic-industry partnership with Cordance; Focused Ultrasound System to open the BBB and enrich liquid biomarkers for glioblastoma."
December 13, 2024 Meeting | NeuroConcepts Consensus Pathway
Focus: Presentation of a clinical trial concept by Michael Wang, M.D., professor, Lymphoma-Myeloma, and Mary Frances McAleer, M.D., Ph.D., professor, CNS Radiation Oncology, titled ¡°Preoperative Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery for IDH-wt High-Grade Glioma."
September 24, 2024 Meeting
Focus: Presentation by Jason Huse, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Anatomical Pathology, titled "Targeting G4 DNA secondary structures in ATRX-deficient glioma," focusing on the Lab-to-Life Pathway with the goal to discuss practical steps of translating basic science data into a clinical trial as a multi-disciplinary team.
Trainee Symposiums
September 13, 2024
Inaugural Brain Tumor Center Trainee Symposium 2024
This one-of-a-kind trainee-led and moderated virtual symposium featured multidisciplinary presentations by national and international trainees who were first authors of outstanding high-impact publications spanning clinical and translational research in multiple disciplines, including neurobiology, tumor-immune interactions, cancer neuroscience, and their application to neuro-oncological disorders. The symposium also featured keynote addresses by internationally renowned speakers. The innovative forum was co-chaired by Clinical Fellows Pushan Dasgupta, M.D., Ph.D., Neuro-Oncology, Catherine Garcia, M.D., Neuro-Oncology, and Jiasen He, M.D., Pediatric Neuro-Oncology.
Training in Brain Tumor Research Seminars
This program opens its doors to national and international scientists alike, spanning various levels of education, from summer students (high school and college), to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
The program incorporates lectures on the basics in laboratory research coupled with the latest discoveries in this area. In addition, trainees are encouraged to actively participate in these seminars by delivering scientific presentations, as an opportunity for improving oral communication skills. This structure provides trainees with a broad and in-depth knowledge on essential areas of brain tumors, with the ultimate goal of producing trained professionals who chose a life-long career in biomedical brain tumor research leading to the translation of fundamental discoveries into improved health care delivery.
The weekly one-hour training lectures are based on two components:
- Top lectures in brain tumors from experts in fundamentals and trending topics in brain tumors, such as clinical aspects, neurodevelopment and neuropsychology. These lectures are informative and encourage our trainees to continue moving towards our common goal.
- Presentations from the trainees' current projects or published data: Allowing trainees to present in front of their peers and mentors assists with the development of professional communication skills and establishment of networking. Trainees receive constructive criticism pre-presentation as well as during their seminar. This platform has been used, for example, as an opportunity to rehearse Ph.D. thesis defenses by trainees.
The Training in Brain Tumor Research Seminars have an average audience of 50 people from different areas of research, such as Neuro-Oncology, Neurosurgery, Neuropsychology, Pathology, Radiation Oncology, Pediatrics and Melanoma.
2024 Seminars
December 13
"SNO Conference Highlights"
MD Anderson Cancer Center Featured Presenters:
- Srividya Arjuna, Postdoctoral Fellow, Translational Molecular Pathology, "CSF ctDNA Analysis of Patients with Glioma Reveals Diagnostic Molecular Alterations"
- Khalil Kasm, Postdoctoral Fellow, Symptom Research CAO, "Crosstalk between sensory neuronal activity and tumor cells promotes malignancy and cancer pain"
- Benjamin Whitfield, M.D./Ph.D. Student, Translational Molecular Pathology, "Elucidating immune microenvironmental distinctions between IDH-mutant astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma using single-cell transcriptional profiling"
- Ivana William, Graduate Research Assistant, Immunology, "Unlocking the potential of hypoxia reduction in reshaping the glioblastoma tumor microenvironment for enhanced therapeutic synergy"
- Xizi Wu, Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurosurgery, "Oncolytic adenoviral infection of chordoma achieves treatment efficacy through immunogenic cell death and tumor microenvironment alteration"
October 25
"Nutrient metabolism in brain tumor patients by 13C isotopomer technology"
Kumar Pichumani, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Houston Methodist
October 18
"Immunotherapy-Related Central Neurotoxicity in Children with Cancer"
Jiasen He, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
"Enhancing the Immunotherapeutic Effects of Oncolytic Virotherapy in Gliomas"
Dong Ho Shin, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Neuro-Oncology Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center
October 11
"Decoding brain tumors via cellular reprogramming"
Dung-Fang Lee, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, UT Health
September 27
"Targeting the Epigenetic Machinery to improve response to Immune Checkpoint Therapy"
Sangeeta Goswami, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
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September 20
"Advancing Cancer Immunotherapy in Glioblastoma: The emerging role of engineered NK cells"
Mayra Shanley, Ph.D., Principal Research Scientist, Stem Cell Transplantation Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center
May 24
"Peripheral Neuroimmunology of Pain Associated with Cancer Treatment"
Peter Grace, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair Ad Interim, Department of Symptom Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center
May 17
"Neuropsychological Assessment in Glioma: Clinical Research and Implications"
Kyle R. Noll, Ph.D., ABPP, Associate Professor, Department of Neuro-Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
May 10
"Multiplex Multi-Omics: The Future of Spatial Biology"
Jared Burks, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Leukemia, Co-Director, Flow Cytometry & Cellular Imaging Core Facility, MD Anderson Cancer Center
April 12
"Medulloblastoma"
Michael Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Pediatrics-Hematology/Oncology & Neurosurgery, Director, Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Research Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital
March 29
"Leveraging Single Cell Sequencing and Mouse Models to Identify New Immunotherapy Targets for Brain Cancer"
Kyuson Yun, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Neurology, Associate Member, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston Methodist, Weill Cornell Medical College
March 8
"Innovations in Radiation Therapy: Unraveling the Potential of Ultra-High Dose Rate (FLASH) RT"
Emil Schueler, Ph.D., DABR, Assistant Professor, Radiation Physics, MD Anderson Cancer Center
2023 Seminars
November 10
"Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells for Pediatric Brain Tumors"
Nabil M. Ahmed, M.D., M.P.H., Professor, Department of Pediatrics Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine
October 27
"Induction of Brain Resident Tumor-Specific Memory T (BTrm) Cells: A Novel Weapon for Preventing GBM Tumor Relapse?"
Shulin Li, Ph.D., Professor, Pediatrics-Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center
October 13
"Immunotherapy Gone Viral: Strategies for Targeting Pediatric Brain Tumors with Oncolytic Virotherapy"
Gregory K. Friedman, M.D., Professor, Pediatrics Section Chief, Neuro-Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
September 29
"Targeting Tumor Microenvironment to Enhance Anticancer Efficacy of Oncolytic Virus Therapy"
Ji Young Yoo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, UT Health Science Center at Houston
June 9
"Where cells meet circuits: Intersectional approaches to investigate CNS function in health and disease"
Justin O'Hare, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Polleux and Losonczy Labs, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University
May 19
"AI for Drug Discovery & Repurposing"
Bissan Al-Lazikani, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Genomic Medicine, Director, Therapeutics Data Science, MD Anderson Cancer Center
May 12
"Comprehensive Discovery of Antigenic Targets for Cancer Immunotherapy"
Sachet A. Shukla, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Hematopoietic Biology & Malignancy, Department of Immunology, Director of Computational Biology, ECLIPSE Director, HBM Cancer Vaccine Program, MD Anderson Cancer Center
April 21
"Brain Response Modeling in Radiation Therapy"
Dragan Mirkovic, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Physics, MD Anderson Cancer Center
March 31
"Novel Mediators and Experimental Therapeutics for Metastatic Brain Tumor"
Hui-Wen Lo, M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, Director of Metastatic Brain Tumor Research Program, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
March 10
"New Neuroimaging Tools to Assess Patients with Cancer"
Max Wintermark, M.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroradiology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
February 10
"Lessons Learned"
Gregory N. Fuller, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Neuroradiology, Deputy Chair, Anatomical Pathology, MD Anderson Cancer Center