Funded Projects

The Chad Carr Pediatric Brain Tumor Center is committed to pushing the limits of what is known about pediatric brain tumors, and advancing treatment for children with these diseases.

Thanks to contributions to the U-M ChadTough Fund and the incredible efforts of the ChadTough Foundation, the Chad Carr Pediatric Brain Tumor Center has established a Proof of Principal Research Collaboration (P3RC) Award.

P3RC awards are granted to projects in our priority research areas of drug delivery, device deployment, clinical trials, cellular therapy and immunotherapeutics, and are designed to bring University of Michigan investigators from complimentary fields together to work on research strategies and approaches to cure DIPG. All funding recipients agree to share data with other Chad Carr Pediatric Brain Tumor Center research faculty.

Proposals for P3RC Awards are accepted on a rolling basis, are reviewed, then presented to the CCPBTC Advisory Committee for funding determination. Funding awards are determined through peer-review using internal and, where appropriate, external reviews to ensure funds support innovative projects that can be feasibly accomplished.

View the current RFA for proposal guidelines and submission instructions. Applications are accepted through Competition Space. The CCPBTC Advisory Committee meets quarterly ( Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) to review proposals. For additional information or questions regarding the application process, please contact Kristin Jensen in Pediatric Hematology Oncology at [email protected] or at 734-232-2788.

2024 Funded Projects

Radiation-induced neoantigens as a source of immunotherapy targets in DIPG

Principal Investigator(s): John Prensner, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Stefanie Galban, PhD
Collaborators: Jennifer Abelin, PhD (Harvard)

2023 Funded Projects

Defining Drivers of Tumor Proliferationin H3K27M Tumors for Novel Therapeutic Discovery

Principal Investigator(s): Wajd Al-Holou, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD, Arvind Rao, PhD

Improving NK cell-mediated antitumor immune responses against H3K27M mutant DIPG by combined therapy with PARP inhibitor and radiotherapy

Principal Investigator(s): Qiang Zhang, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Meredith Morgan, PhD, Carl Koschmann, MD, Michael Green, MD, PhD

A systems biology approach to target DIPG metabolism and epigenome

Principal Investigator(s): Sriram Chandrasekaran, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD

2022 Funded Projects

Therapeutic Potential of Combining PARP Inhibitor and Radiation in Histone 3K27M Mutant Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma

Principal Investigator(s): Qiang Zhang, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Daniel Wahl, MD, PhD, Meredith A. Morgan, PhD, Carl Koschmann, MD

Longitudinal Analysis of CSF Biomarkers in Pediatric and Young Adult Glioma to Predict Treatment Response

Principal Investigator(s): Wajd Al-Holou, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Daniel Wahl, MD, PhD, Yoshie Umemura, MD, Carl Koschmann, MD, Jouha Min, PhD, Sunitha Nagrath, PhD, Hugh Garton, MD, Arvind Rao, PhD

2021 Funded Projects

Regional-dependent modulation of H3K27M-DMG growth by ONC201 in brain organoid models

Principal Investigator(s): Rodrigo Cartaxo, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Jack Parent, MD, Vishal John, B.S.
Collaborators: Mariella Filbin, MD, PhD (Harvard)

Targeting Metabolic Regulation of the Enhancer Landscape in DIPG

Principal Investigator(s): Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Carl Koschmann, MD, Costas A Lyssiotis, PhD
Collaborators: Michelle Monje, MD, PhD (Stanford University)

Therapeutic Targeting of Disrupted Metabolic State in DIPG

Principal Investigator(s): Costas A Lyssiotis, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Carl Koschmann, MD, Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD

Tackling Metabolic Reprogramming in DIPG: A collaborative effort to uncover novel and effective treatments for DIPGs

Principal Investigator(s): Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Carl Koschmann, MD

Combinatorial targeting of H3 K27M-DIPG with ONC201 and EGFR inhibition

Principal Investigator(s): Carl Koschmann, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD, Costas Lyssiotis, PhD, Rodrigo Cartaxo, PhD
Collaborators: Adam Resnick, PhD (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium), Javad Nazarian, PhD (Children’s Hospital of Zurich)

MiOncoseq Integration with PNOC/DMG ACT (PNOC22/PNOC23)

Principal Investigator(s): Carl Koschmann, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Andrea Franson, MD, MS, Rajen Mody, MD, MS, Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD

Low-cost, Same-Day, Tissue and Liquid Biopsy Molecular Diagnostics for DIPG

Principal Investigator(s): Carl Koschmann, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Amy Bruzek, MD, Reetuparna Das, PhD, Jack Wadden, PhD, Hugh Garton, MD, Tingting Qin, PhD, Rajen Mody, MD, MS

2020 Funded Projects

Targeting Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated for Improved Radiation Therapy Efficacy in H3.3.K27M Mutant Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas

Principal Investigator(s): Meredith Morgan, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Carl Koschmann, MD, Dan Wahl, MD, PhD, Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD

Discovery of H3K27M-specific metabolic mediators of therapy resistance in diffuse midline glioma

Principal Investigator(s): Daniel Wahl, MD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Costas Lyssiotis, PhD, Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD, Meredith Morgan, MD, Maria Castro, PhD

Exploiting specific amino acid dependencies to kill H3K27M DIPG cells

Principal Investigator(s): Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Deepak Nagrath, PhD, Carl Koschmann, MD
Collaborators: Michelle Monje, MD, PhD (Stanford University), Jiangbin Ye, PhD (Stanford University)

2019 Funded Projects

Expanding the Clinical Trial Capacity of the Chad Carr Pediatric Brain Tumor Center

(clinical trial)
Principal Investigator(s): Andrea Franson, MD, MS
U-M Co-Investigators: Carl Koschmann, MD; Patricia Robertson, MD; Marcia Leonard, NP; Rajen Mody, MD; Bernard Marini, PharmD; Hugh Garton, MD, MHSc.

Investigating epigenetic mechanisms which support DIPG tumor development through interrogation of the DIPG epigenome.

(clinical trial/immunotherapeutics)

Principal Investigator(s): Carl Koschmann, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
Collaborators: Susanne V. Schmidt, Dr.rer.nat. (Institute of Innate Immunity (iii), University Hospital, Bonn, Germany)

Therapeutic discovery in DIPG and pediatric high-grade glioma through a novel intra-uterine electroporation mouse model

(drug delivery/device development; immunotherapy)
Principal Investigator: Carl Koschmann, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Vivekanand Yadav, PhD; Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD; Tingting Qin, PhD

SHARING THE CNS-TAP TOOL: Implementing CNS-TAP in a Scalable, Updateable Way for Precise, Widespread Application of Drug Knowledge to Treat Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas

Principal Investigator: Allen Flynn, PharmD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Carl Koschmann, MD, Bernard Marini, PharmD
Collaborators: Sabine Mueller, MD/PhD (UCSF), Cassie Kline, MD (UCSF), Lindsay Kilburn, MD (CNHS, Wash., DC)

Therapeutically targeting ID1 in H3K27M-mutant DIPG

(pre-clinical/pathway; translational/therapy development)
Principal Investigator: Carl Koschmann, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD; Rajen Mody, MD; Bing Ye, PhD; Tingting Qin, PhD
Collaborators: Cynthia Hawkins, MD, PhD (Sick Kids/Toronto); Sean McAllister, MD, PhD & Pierre Yves Desprez, PhD (CA Pacific Med Cntr Res Inst); Timothy Phoenix, PhD (Cincinnati Children’s Hosp Med Cntr)

Targeting Cancer Stem cells in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)

(drug delivery/device development)
Principal Investigator: Stefanie Galbán, PhD
Team: Galbán Lab

Therapeutic Targeting of the Disrupted Metabolic State in DIPG to Induce Ferroptotic Cell Death

(fellowship)
Principal Investigator: Nneka E. Mbah, PhD
Team: Costas A. Lyssiotis, PhD (mentor); Sriram Venneti, M.D., PhD (co-mentor)

Targeting metabolic regulation of the epigenome in DIPG

(cellular therapy)
Principal Investigator(s): Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
Team: Venneti Lab

Priming DIPG For Immunogenic Cell Death By Inducing Ferroptosis

(immunotherapeutics)
Principal Investigator(s): Costas A. Lyssiotis, PhD
U-M Co-Investigator(s): Maria Castro, PhD

Exploring the Androgen Receptor as a Therapeutic Target in Pediatric Brain Tumors

(clinical trial)
Principal Investigator(s): Daniel R Wahl, MD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Carl Koschmann, MD; Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD; Ted Lawrence, MD, PhD

Precision Oncology in a Multi-institutional, Multi-Ethnic Cohort of Children with High-Risk Malignancies

(integrative clinical squencing)
Principal Investigator(s): Rajen Mody, MD, MS (Michigan Medicine) / Jeffrey W. Taub, MD, (Children’s Hospital of Michigan)
Collaborators: Michigan Medicine-UM Ann Arbor; Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit; Hurley Medical Center, Flint

2018 Funded Projects

Michigan Medicine/ChadTough Foundation DIPG Genetic/Epigenetic Research Toolkit

(infrastructure)

Principal Investigator(s): Carl Koschmann, MD / Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Rajen Mody, MD; Luigi Franchi, PhD; Valerie Opipari, MD; Patricia Robertson, MD; Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD; Daniel Lawrence, PhD; Ted Lawrence, MD, PhD, Meredith Morgan, PhD; Maureen Sartor, PhD; Tingting Qin, PhD; Hugh Garton, MD, MHSc; Karin Muraszko, MD.
Collaborators: Cynthia Hawkins, MD, PhD (Toronto/Sick Kids), Maryam Fouladi, MD, MSc, FRCPC (Cincinnati Children’s), Amanda Saratsis, MD (Northwestern/Lurie Children’s), Chetan Bettegowda, MD, PhD and Ken Cohen, MD, MBA (Johns Hopkins), Chris Jones, Professor (Institute for Cancer Research, UK), Michelle Monje, MD, PhD (Stanford), Chao Lu, PhD (University of Columbia), C. David Allis, PhD (Rockefeller University).

Targeting metabolic reprogramming in H3K27M DIPGs

(cellular therapy)
Principal Investigator: Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Costas Lyssiotis, PhD; Carl Koschmann, MD
Collaborators: Michelle Monje, MD, PhD (Stanford); Sophia Lunt, PhD (Michigan State)

A Phase 2 Study of ONC201 for Children and Young Adults with Gliomas Harboring H3K27M Mutation

(clinical trial)
Principal Investigator: Carl Koschmann, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Patricia Robertson, MD; Marcia Leonard, NP; Rajen Mody, MD; Hugh Garton, MD, MD, MHSc; Abraham Van Der Spek, MD; Hemant Parmar, MD; Yue Cao, PhD; Bernard Marini, PharmD; Lili Zhao, PhD

Uncovering novel DNA-damage repair pathway targets in DIPG

(clinical trial/drug delivery/device development)
Principal Investigator(s): Carl Koschmann, MD / Meredith Morgan, MD
U-M Co-Investigators: Dan Lawrence, PhD; Ted Lawrence, MD, PhD; Alnawaz Rehemtulla, PhD; Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD
Collaborator: Timothy Phoenix, PhD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Therapeutic targeting of the disrupted metabolic state in DIPG to induce ferroptotic cell death

(cellular therapy)
Principal Investigator: Costas Lyssiotis, PhD
U-M Co-Investigators: Luigi Franchi, PhD; Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD

2016 Funded Projects - ChadTough Fund

Exploring role of ACVR1 and HIST1H3B Mutations in DIPG in vivo in Preclinical Mouse Models: Uncovering Novel Therapeutic Targets

Principal Investigator: Maria G. Castro
Co-Principal Investigator: Pedro R. Lowenstein