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Current Medical Student Summer Research Fellows

·	Current Medical Student Research Fellows

Dale Ding Institution: Duke University Research plan summary: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly invasive cancer that recurs and progresses despite our best treatment modalities. We have developed a vaccine against the tumor-specific epidermal growth factor mutation, EGFRvIII, a significant negative prognosticator in this disease. It is unclear what is the principal oncogene pathway driving GBM recurrence in post-vaccination EGFRvIII negative tumors. We hope to perform microarray analysis on the tumor tissue from our vaccinated, EGFRvIII negative patients both pre- and post- vaccination. This technique will allow us to identify if any of the metagene profiles for astrocytes we had previously identified can be seen in these tumors, and if so, it will identify which is the dominant oncogenic pathway driving recurrent tumor growth. This would provide important information regarding the possibility of simultaneously treating patients both with our current vaccine and with an inhibitor of the secondary pathway to possibly prolong disease-free survival.