MISSION STATEMENT

Pediatric brain tumors have a devastating impact on the lives of affected children and their families. The most common brain tumor in children is medulloblastoma (MB), with 20–30% of MB patients still succumbing to the disease. Even for those successfully treated, long-term well-being is often compromised due to complications from the intensive therapies required to combat the tumor. Therefore, there is an urgent need for improved therapeutic approaches that selectively target the molecular mechanisms driving tumor growth and progression — while sparing pathways essential for normal tissue function.

Our research focuses on tumor cell migration and tissue invasion, key processes underlying the metastatic spread of malignant tumors like MB. Our primary goal is to develop and explore molecular targeting strategies aimed at disrupting the cellular functions that drive migration and invasion in medulloblastoma. By uncovering novel mechanistic insights into the molecular processes that promote these behaviors, we also deepen our understanding of the biology behind pediatric brain tumor growth and progression. Our secondary goal is to uncover molecular mechanisms that mediate the interaction of the tumor cells with the tissue microenvironment, with the overall objective of identifying relevant regulatory circuitry that governs tumor growth and progression.

Our lab is part of the Pediatric Oncology Division of the University Children's Hospital Zürich, affiliated with the Children's Research Center, the  Comprehensive Cancer Center Zürich, and the University of Zürich.

We receive or have received financial support from the SNF, the Swiss Cancer League, Stiftung Kinderkrebsforschung Schweiz, Innosuisse, Sassella Stiftung,  and Forschungsstiftung UZH. We are truly grateful for this generous financial support.

Diversity statement:

As a lab affiliated with the University of Zurich (UZH), we embrace diversity as a core value and tolerate no discrimination. We are committed to treating each other with esteem, respect, and open-mindedness regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, origin, religion, sexual orientation, social or occupational position, or language. In our encounters with each other, we welcome the opportunity to broaden our horizons, to learn from one another, and to thrive through new challenges.