Leptomeningeal metastasis is a devastating complication of cancer in which tumor cells spread into the fluid and membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Most patients with this condition have very limited treatment options because the brain’s unique immune environment makes it difficult for the immune system to mount effective anti-cancer responses.
Dr. Parra Bravo combines expertise in neuroscience, stem cell biology, and immunology to study how immune cells function within the brain. Her earlier research identified genetic drivers of neurodegenerative disease and helped develop new CRISPR-based approaches for studying disease mechanisms in human neurons.
Her project focuses on tissue-resident memory T cells, or TRM, specialized immune cells that permanently reside within tissues and provide rapid local protection. Dr. Parra Bravo believes that leptomeningeal metastases suppress these resident immune cells and weaken the brain’s natural defenses against cancer. Using advanced imaging, mouse models, and high-throughput CRISPR screening, she will map where TRM cells reside in the brain, determine how they control tumor spread, and identify the genetic “switches” that regulate their activity.
The goal is to develop new strategies that harness these naturally occurring immune cells to improve immune surveillance and create more effective treatments for cancers that spread to the central nervous system.
Mentor
Pamela Rosato, PhD
Projects and Grants
Defining compartmental control of CNS TRM immunity in leptomeningeal metastasis
