Abstract

Tim Phoenix, PhD, conducted his graduate training in developmental neurobiology with Dr Sally Temple at Albany Medical College. His postdoctoral training with Prof Richard Gilbertson at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital focused on defining tumour microenvironment heterogeneity, identifying difference in blood-brain barrier function between medulloblastoma subgroups. In the summer of 2016 he joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre. The Phoenix lab is focused on advancing our understanding of paediatric brain tumour diversity, and developing new tools and therapies to improve patient outcome. A main area of interest in the lab is to understand how brain tumour genetic heterogeneity alters the tumour microenvironment. By building new animal models that reflect distinct genetic variants and molecular subgroups, we are investigating effects on tumour-vascular interactions (angiogenesis, blood-brain barrier maintenance, vascular-niche), and their role in brain tumour pathogenesis.