Luis Parada
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, IN·Medicine & Clinical Research
Glioblastoma is the most aggressive type of brain tumor. A subset of these tumors carries mutations in NF1, a tumor suppressor gene that normally keeps cell growth signals in check.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Genetics
Neuroscience
- Topics
glioblastoma
glioma
brain tumor
- Grants
- 1 known grant, last ended Aug 2026
What they work on
- Test whether NF1-mutant glioblastomas have distinct tumor cell properties and immune microenvironments, using engineered mice lacking NF1, Tp53 and Pten compared with NF1-normal QKi/Tp53/Pten mice.
- Compare inherited versus tumor-only NF1 loss, using mouse models engineered to mimic each situation, along with primary tumor cultures and tumor transplants.
- Test NF1/Ras pathway-tailored therapies in patient-derived xenografts, human tumors grown in mice, that carry mutated or normal NF1.
- Clinically annotate patients with inherited NF1 and glioblastoma, and analyze their archived tumor biopsies alongside genomic and proteomic profiling to validate NF1-specific tumor features.
More about the research
People born with an NF1 mutation, the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1, have a high rate of glioma. NF1 is also mutated in about 20–25% of high-grade gliomas that arise in the general population. These NF1-mutant tumors are aggressive and have no effective treatment. This project, one part of a larger multi-project program, tests the central hypothesis that NF1-mutant gliomas form a distinct group. In this view they have their own way of developing, their own surrounding tissue environment, and their own weak points that drugs could exploit.
Why it matters
NF1-mutant gliomas affect people with neurofibromatosis type 1 and a sizable share of patients with sporadic high-grade glioma, and these tumors currently have no effective treatments. By identifying vulnerabilities specific to NF1-mutant tumors and testing NF1/Ras-targeted drugs, the work could point to genotype-matched therapies for these patients. It also builds on recent treatment advances in other NF1-related tumors.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
David H Gutmann
Washington University in St Louis, MO·Neuroscience
Define the cellular and molecular interdependencies, among tumor cells, neurons, T cells and microglia, that drive NF1-associated low-grade glioma and neurodevelopmental deficits, using patient and CRISPR-engineered iPSCs and Nf1 mutant mice.
Jason Yustein
Emory University, GA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Map single-cell protein and RNA signatures and cell-cell communication in MYC-amplified human and mouse osteosarcoma, using patient-derived xenografts and engineered mice, and disrupt candidate metastasis-linked signals genetically.
Dolores Hambardzumyan
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Microbiology & Immunology
Map how glioblastoma subtype and location shape monocyte and neutrophil infiltration, using single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial multiomics and multiplex flow cytometry in mice carrying human tumor-driving mutations.
The school
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis: 25 labs on PI Pages, $89M a year on research, 120 research doctorates a year.
More about Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
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