David R Raleigh, M.D.


Research Interests: Hedgehog signaling, developmental biology, brain tumors and molecular therapeutics

 

More children die from brain tumors than any other type of cancer, and the most common type of brain tumor in children is medulloblastoma. Like all cancers, medulloblastoma is caused by uncontrolled cell growth. Approximately one-third of medulloblastoma cancers arise when a particular signal that tells brain cells to grow, called Hedgehog, gets stuck in the “on” position. We are interested in uncovering exactly how Hedgehog signals tell cancer cells to grow. To do so, we are investigating how the Hedgehog pathway is activated, and how Hedgehog activation regulates the expression of other signals to influence cell growth. Understanding how Hedgehog signals cause cancer may show us how to turn off these signals, and potentially, lead to new therapies for medulloblastoma.

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