Claudia Han, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow University of California, San Diego

Microglia are a type of immune cell found in only in the brain, where they are essential for brain development and maintaining normal brain functions. Unfortunately, in brain cancer, especially glioma, the behavior of these microglia can become disrupted and cause them to act in ways that end up supporting tumors. Therefore, to help address the role of microglia in brain cancer, Dr. Claudia Han is characterizing the elements that control microglia activity. Specifically, she’s investigating a certain protein that might be responsible for maintaining their identity and its effects in both normal brain tissue as well as a mouse model of glioblastoma. Additionally, she’s characterizing the regulatory pathways of microglia in human brain cancer with the goal of identifying new therapeutic targets.

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