Jason Zhang, PhD

Glioblastoma is a deadly brain cancer that is very hard to treat. One reason is that a tumor can contain many different types of cancer cells. A treatment may kill some cells, while others adapt and survive. These surviving cells can help the cancer keep growing or return after treatment. Our project will study how glioblastoma cells escape drugs that block a key signal for cancer growth. These drugs can block their main target, but some cancer cells still find ways to survive. They may turn on backup signals or use the same signals in new ways. We want to learn which cells escape, when they do so, and where these survival signals come from inside the cell. We will use artificial intelligence to create protein-based sensors that work like tiny “signal detectors.” These sensors will let us watch growth signals inside living cancer cells during treatment. We will study one cell at a time, rather than only looking at the tumor as a whole. This can help us find small groups of cells that respond differently and may otherwise be missed. We will also test our sensors in tumor models made from patient cancer cells. Our goal is to find the signals that allow glioblastoma cells to survive treatment. We can then look for ways to block these escape routes. This research could lead to better drug combinations that stop cancer cells from adapting to treatment. In the future, these findings may help treatments work longer and improve options for people living with glioblastoma.