Grant: Operating Grant

Medulloblastoma is a very aggressive childhood cerebellum cancer and the most common brain tumor in children. One of the important causes of medulloblastoma is aberrant activation of the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway. Our lab recently identified a novel receptor for the secreted protein Shh. Using molecular and genetic approaches, we propose to identify the role of this receptor in medulloblastoma tumorigenesis. Defining the role of this novel Shh receptor in medulloblastoma will improve our knowledge on the molecular events involved in this cancer. Hopefully, this research will facilitate the discovery of more effective therapeutic agents that will help treat or prevent medulloblastoma and possibly other cancers that result from aberrant Shh signaling.