Accepting graduate students
Research theme
- Neuro-oncology
- Pediatric cancer
- Stem cell biology
Research interests
- Medulloblastoma
- Pediatric brain tumors
- Cancer stem cells
Keywords
- Medulloblastoma
- Self-renewal and neural differentiation
- Xenotransplantation assays
- Gene expression profiling
- OTX2
- CD271/p75NTR
Research affiliations
- Affiliate research scientist, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)
- Affiliate scientist, Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology (RIOH), Winnipeg, Manitoba
Research summary
Dr. Tamra Werbowetski-Ogilvie has made significant contributions to the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating stem cell function and heterogeneity in medulloblastoma (MB), the most common primary malignant childhood brain tumor.
Her lab has discovered central regulators of self-renewal (Nature Communications, 2020, Molecular Oncology, 2018, Disease Models & Mechanisms, 2015; Stem Cells, 2012) and potential diagnostic biomarkers for MB (Cancer Research, 2018).
Dr. Werbowetski-Ogilvie routinely utilizes model systems, some of which she first developed (Nature Biotechnology, 2009; Stem Cells, 2012), that most closely represent the human condition, including primary MB cells from patient tumors, MB-like cells derived from human neural precursor cells and mouse models where these cells are implanted into the cerebellum.
Over the last 10 years, Dr. Werbowetski-Ogilvie has been continuously supported by provincial, national and international funding agencies, including Research Manitoba, CHRIM, CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), NSERC, the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research (US) and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (US).