Lawler Lab
Principal Investigator: Sean Edward Lawler
Institution: Brown University (Providence, RI)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project Summary/Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) is an incurable brain tumor for which improved therapies are badly needed. There are roughly 10,000 cases diagnosed in the US each year, and median survival is ~14 months. Evidence has been accumulating over recent years linking cytomegalovirus (CMV) to GBM and other cancers. However, the role of CMV in GBM remains poorly defined. CMV is a prevalent virus in humans, where it resides lifelong in a latent state but can be reactivated under certain conditions. Several clinical trials targeting CMV using diverse approaches including immunotherapies and the anti-viral drug CMV have shown very promising responses in GBM patients, but the underlying mechanisms are not clear. To improve our understanding of this area we have developed an immunocompetent murine model of intracranial GBM grown in the context of a systemic latent CMV infection. This consistently leads to significantly shortened survival compared with mock infected controls in multiple distinct murine GBM models. These effects can be reversed by treatment with anti-viral drugs. Our new preliminary human data shows reduced progression free survival in CMV seropositive humans and simil…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01CA263324-05: Defining the role of cytomegalovirus in glioblastoma therapies (2026)
- 5R01CA263324-04: Defining the role of cytomegalovirus in glioblastoma therapies (2025)
- 3R01CA263324-03S1: Defining the role of cytomegalovirus in glioblastoma therapies (2024)
- 5R01CA263324-03: Defining the role of cytomegalovirus in glioblastoma therapies (2024)
- 5R21CA259734-02: Preclinical assessment of efficacy and tumor microenvironment alterations by PPRX-1701 in glioblastoma (2024)
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