Dr. Maria G. Castro served as External Examiner for Alessia Portante’s doctoral thesis defense held at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto on March 26.
Global Spotlight: APS 2026
Dr. Pedro Lowenstein co-chaired Tutorial T7, “Form and Functions of Topological Defects in Biological Matter,” at the APS Global Physics Summit 2026, held on March 15 at the Colorado Convention Center. The session brought together researchers across disciplines to explore cutting-edge developments at the intersection of biological physics, active matter, and mathematics. On March 18, Dr. Lowenstein also presented “Topology Control of Cancer Cell Monolayers…
Research Excellence: Rogel Cancer Center Discovery Award
Research Excellence: Rogel Cancer Center Discovery Award We are excited to share that Dr. Maria G. Castro and Dr. Steven P. Schwendeman have been awarded $100,000 through the Rogel Cancer Center Discovery Award for their project “Targeting DNA Repair and Anti-Tumor Immunity in G34-Mutant Diffuse Hemispheric Gliomas.” The award will enable continued investigation into combined DNA repair targeting and immune-based therapeutic strategies.
Reprogramming Glioma TME Enhances Immune-Mediated Gene Therapy
Dr. Castro and colleagues show that mutant IDH1 epigenetically suppresses CD73 expression, limiting adenosine production and reprogramming the glioma microenvironment toward immune permissiveness. This work has been accepted for publication in Cell Press – Molecular Therapy Oncology (In Press). CD73 inhibition in wild-type IDH1 glioma models enhances the efficacy of immune-stimulatory gene therapy, revealing a mechanistically grounded combinatorial strategy to overcome immunosuppression and improve therapeutic responses.
Congratulations to Dr. Maria Castro
Dr. Maria Castro has joined the Molecular Therapy Oncology Journal as an Associate Editor. Molecular Therapy Oncology Journal in an official journal of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy