BTRC Directors

Mitchel S. Berger MD, Director

C. David James PhD, Associate Director

Russell O. Pieper PhD, Basic Science Director

BTRC Research Laboratories

Manish Aghi MD, PhD
Oncolytic viral therapies; vascular biology of glioma

Arturo Alvarez-Buylla PhD
Developmental neuroscience; stem-cell neurobiology

Krys Bankiewicz MD, PhD
Convection drug-delivery systems; gene therapy

Mitchel S. Berger MD
Brain mapping; molecular genetic basis, biology, and therapy of brain tumors

Gabriele Bergers PhD
Angiogenesis; tumor invasion

Soonmee Cha MD
Perfusion magnetic resonance imaging

Joe Costello PhD
Functional genomics

Nalin Gupta MD, PhD
Pediatric brain tumors; cell-cell interactions

Daphne Haas-Kogan MD
Apoptosis and genetic mutations; therapeutic irradiation enhancement

C. David James PhD
Molecular biology of CNS cancer; analysis of mutant epidermal growth factor receptors in malignant gliomas; Rodent model testing of experimental therapies

Andrew Parsa MD, PhD
Immunotherapy

Claudia Petritsch PhD
Brain cancer stem cells; asymmetric stem cell division; novel tumor suppressor genes

Russ Pieper PhD
Signal transduction; models of human gliomagenesis and drug resistance

William Weiss MD, PhD
Mouse models of human brain tumors

John Wiencke PhD
Biomarker Development & Application in Brain Tumor Etiology

Margaret Wrensch MPH, PhD
Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology of Adult Glioma

Shichun Zheng PhD
Molecular Neuroepidemiology

Meningioma Laboratory

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Brain Tumor Research Center

Continuously funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1972, the Brain Tumor Research Center (BTRC) at UCSF is internationally recognized as a major research and treatment center for adults and children with tumors of the brain and spinal cord. The basic science laboratories of the BTRC and the Michael Douglas Pediatric BTRC, in collaboration with the Brain Tumor Center's Clinical Neuro-Oncology Program, emphasize translational research into the biology and behavior of brain tumors - research in which scientists and health care clinicians work in partnership to translate laboratory findings into new or improved forms of clinical therapy. Many BTRC researchers are also members of UCSF's Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, a designated National Cancer Institute (NCI) research center.

UCSF launched the new Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Building on June 2, 2009, bringing all cancer research specialists at UCSF together under one roof. Watch the Abc 7 video coverage of the new, world-class facility and its impact on cancer research.

The BTRC Research Laboratories

Multi-laboratory Studies
Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE): The BTRC is one of four institutions to have received a SPORE grant for the study of brain tumors by the NCI. SPORE grants are intended to foster interaction between basic and applied scientists, providing them with the flexibility to rapidly test new approaches to the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Program Project Grant: The BTRC has been funded by a program project grant for 32 years. In 2007, BTRC investigators took this program in a new direction by incorporating studies of convection enhanced delivery into the the program's overall focus on neuroimaging.

Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Institute Award : The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States has granted the BTRC an Institute Award to study central nervous system tumors in children. The grant funds five research projects that focus on pediatric brainstem glioma and medulloblastoma.

Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma Foundation Award: Investigators in the BTRC have been given a research award by the nonprofit Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma Foundation to study stem cells in pediatric fibrillary astrocytoma.