About
Assistant Professor
Department of Radiological Sciences
UCLA
Project title: Advanced MRI for Visualization and Quantification of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment (TIME) in Glioblastoma
Mentors:
Robert Prins, PhD – UCLA
Benjamin Ellingson, PhD – UCLA
Multidisciplinary expertise:
Magnetic resonance imaging, cancer immunology, neuro oncology, biomarkers
Project Description:
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a devastating brain cancer with limited treatment options and poor patient survival. Immunotherapies have revolutionized treatment for many cancers, yet their effectiveness in GBM remains limited, which is partially attributed to the tumor’s highly immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Conventional biopsy-based approaches to assess the TIME are invasive and capture only a transient, spatially limited snapshot of a highly dynamic system. To address this challenge, the proposed project aims to develop advanced, non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques capable of providing real-time, spatially resolved insights into the TIME dynamics. By leveraging advanced microstructural and susceptibility-based imaging techniques, we seek to (1) characterize the baseline immune state of GBM and (2) detect dynamic changes in response to immune-modulatory interventions. The approach will be validated through both preclinical models (Aim 1) and matched tissue samples from GBM patients (Aim 2).