What if we could stop an aggressive childhood brain tumor by disrupting the instructions it depends on to grow?
At the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, the Penalva Lab, led by Luiz O.F. Penalva, PhD, studies RNA—the molecules that help cells decide when, where, and how genetic instructions are used.
The lab is particularly interested in how problems with RNA regulation contribute to brain tumors and how those discoveries might be turned into new treatments.
One major focus is Group 3 medulloblastoma, an especially aggressive form of the most common malignant brain tumor in children.
Dr. Penalva and his team are studying how the cancer-driving gene MYC changes the way these tumor cells produce proteins. The researchers found that MYC can alter small RNA molecules involved in building ribosomes—the cellular machinery that makes proteins cancer cells need to grow and survive.
Now they’re asking an important question:
Can those RNA molecules become the cancer’s weakness?
With support from the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, the Penalva Lab is investigating molecules called antisense oligonucleotides, or ASOs. These short, specially designed molecules can seek out and target specific disease-related RNA.
The goal is to determine whether targeting abnormal RNA in Group 3 medulloblastoma can slow tumor growth, overcome treatment resistance, and lay the groundwork for a new, more precise treatment strategy.
This is still preclinical research, but it shows why understanding cancer at the molecular level matters.
When researchers discover what a childhood cancer depends on to survive, they may also discover how to take that advantage away.
🔬 Learn more about the Penalva Lab:
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