Imaging how brain tumors hijack existing blood vessels
Official title: Image-based Systems Biology of Vascular Co-option in Brain Tumors
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11306695 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using detailed imaging and models to find brain-scan signs that gliomas (including glioblastoma) grow by taking over existing blood vessels, to help people with brain tumors.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | April 27, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $447,177 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA196701-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11306695 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with gliomas, especially high-grade tumors like glioblastoma or patients whose MRIs show non-enhancing or unclear areas, would be most relevant to this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without brain tumors or with unrelated neurological conditions are unlikely to benefit directly from this specific research.
What this research studies
The team will use patient-derived tumor tissue grown in models and image them at multiple scales, from tiny blood vessels up to whole-brain scans. They will follow how tumor cells co-opt vessels over time and how this causes astrocytes to lose contact with vessels and changes blood flow. The researchers will build image-based computer models of these hemodynamic changes and search for fMRI signals that mark gliovascular uncoupling. The goal is to translate those signals into a biomarker that could reveal non-enhancing tumor growth that standard MRI misses.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could give doctors new MRI-based markers to detect invading tumor cells earlier and tailor treatments better.
How similar studies have gone: Prior preclinical and clinical studies have described vessel co-option and related hemodynamic changes, but developing a validated fMRI biomarker for co-option is a novel and still unproven approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pathak, Arvind P — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Pathak, Arvind P
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
ONC206 for children with brain tumors: a first-in-children trial
A first-in-children trial will test the safety and early signs of effectiveness of ONC206, taken by mouth, in kids with malignant brain tumors like diffuse midline gliomas.
-
ONC206 for children with malignant brain tumors
A first-in-children trial tests the safety and early effectiveness of a pill that can cross the brain barrier to treat pediatric brain tumors.
-
ONC206 for children with dangerous brain tumors
A first-in-children study tests the safety and early effectiveness of an oral drug, ONC206, for kids with high-risk brain tumors that have spread or recurred.
-
Oral bacteria and brain metastasis: how the mouth may influence brain tumors
A study exploring how oral microbes may affect brain metastases and patient outcomes, with potential to guide new microbiome-based approaches.
-
Bioengineered brain barrier chip to improve drug screening for brain tumors
A small, patient-friendly brain barrier chip is being developed to test drugs for glioblastoma more accurately before they reach clinical trials.
-
Understanding how epigenetic changes drive pediatric brain tumor recurrence and how reversing them could help
A pediatric brain cancer research project is exploring how an epigenetic change (H3K27M) and tumor environment contribute to tumor coming back, using a reversible mouse model to study potential ways to prevent recurrence.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.