For questions about this event, please reach out to Veronica Lemme lemmev@health.missouri.edu

"Zika Virus to Treat Glioblastoma"

Presented by: Milan Chheda, MD; Associate Professor, Director of Neuro-Oncology in the Department of Medicine - Oncology Division, Washington University, St. Louis

Date: Thursday, September 15, 2022, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Location: Tom and Linda Atkins Family Seminar Room, Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building

*This event will have a Zoom option for those unable to attend in person.

Register here

Description

A major problem in treating glioblastoma is targeting treatment resistant cells, that hijack normal developmental pathways and take on stem cell characteristics. Taking a page from nature’s playbook, we are using the natural homing capacity of Zika virus to use it to find, target and kill glioblastoma stem cells. Using genetic engineering, we are making it safer. This presentation will discuss the science from tissue culture to operating room specimens to mouse models and non-human primate studies, as we seek to develop Zika virus as a new treatment for glioblastoma. We will cover the cell targeting effects and immunological responses in the brain.

Speaker Bio

Milan G. Chheda studied physics and mathematics at Harvard College, and obtained his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital, he completed his neurology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He completed neuro-oncology fellowship at MGH and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He is director of neuro-oncology at Washington University. He has won teacher of the year awards from MGH and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.