Enabling Precise and Individualized Cancer Treatment with Biomarkers

Sabrina Ronen, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and director of the Brain Research Interest Group (RIG) on campus. In Dr. Ronen’s lab, researchers are focusing on developing new, non-invasive imaging biomarker indicators to address multiple types of cancers–from breast cancer, prostate cancer and higher-grade aggressive glioblastoma brain tumors to lower-grade, somewhat less aggressive tumors of the brain.

Specifically, her team is working to develop and mechanistically validate robust non-invasive translatable MR-based biomarkers indicators that characterize tumors. “Once the oncologist has that information, they can now work on treating that patient in a more precise and personalized way, really targeting the treatment to the individual’s tumor,” explains Dr. Ronen.

In this video, Dr. Ronen speaks more about the robust research happening in the lab, the challenges faced by scientists and the benefits of precision medicine:

Dr. Ronen has ongoing research projects on monitoring PI3K signaling, detecting the mutational status of isocitrate dehydrogenase, probing the metabolism of brain tumors, and determining the metabolomic profile of pancreatic cancer. Learn more about this project by visiting the Ronen Lab.