Vanderbilt Brain Tumor Center
Our Research
Kathleen Egan, ScD
Dr. Kathleen Egan is a cancer epidemiologist with interests in basic cancer biology, genetic susceptibility and nutrition. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1979 from the University of Connecticut and Master’s in Public Health in 1984 from Boston University. Subsequently, she received a Doctorate of Science degree in 1996 from the Harvard School of Public Health. After a long tenure at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public, in 2002, she joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University where she and Dr. Reid Thompson laid the groundwork for a major epidemiological study of malignant tumors of the brain. Now based at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, she and Dr. Thompson are leading an NIH-funded multi-institutional study based at centers throughout the southeastern United States that is investigating whether environmental exposures and genetic susceptibility contribute to the risk of developing common forms of brain tumors, including glioma and meningioma.
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Michael Kane Cooper, M.D.
Michael Kane Cooper, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology. He completed his M.D. degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham and residency in Neurology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD. In addition, he completed a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for Physicians with Philip A. Beachy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
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Allen Redmond, RN, BSN, CCRP
Allen Redmond joined the Department of Neurosurgery at Vanderbilt in January 2010 as the Clinical Research Coordinator for the Vanderbilt Brain Tumor Center. Allen received his Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Memphis Lowenberg School of Nursing. He has spent the past decade working as Clinical Research Coordinator for the Memphis Regional Brain Tumor Center in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee Memphis and Methodist University Hospital Neuroscience Center. In partnership with Center Director, Dr. Allen Sills, he was responsible for coordinating and overseeing all aspects of clinical neurosurgical research in the fields of neuro-oncology and neurovascular surgery. Through this work, he has been involved in all aspects of clinical trial design and implementation and also facilitated the bi-weekly clinical neuro-oncology tumor board. He has served as national coordinator and data manager for several multi-institutional cooperative clinical trials for brain tumors. He has also been involved in preparation and planning for a variety of neuro-oncology educational events and worked actively in fund raising efforts for brain tumor research. Allen has a keen interest in neuro-oncology clinical trials and in multidisciplinary treatment planning for brain tumor patients.
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Larry Pierce, M.S.
Larry Pierce has been working in cancer research for eight years. He has been with the Department of Neurological Surgery since September 2005, and has been manager of the Neurosurgical Oncology Laboratory since June 2008. His primary research interest is the development of relevant translational methods for detecting biomarkers of aberrant gene regulation in patients with malignant brain tumors. Prior to coming to the department, Larry spent two years studying effects of inherited and spontaneous mutations of mitochondrial and genomic DNA on incidence and survivability of breast cancer in large populations. He also spent nearly two years managing a high-volume sample processing facility supporting a major ongoing NIH-funded public health/cancer population study. Larry obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at Phillips University, Enid, Oklahoma (1997) He obtained his Master of Science Degree in Biology from Vanderbilt University (2001), where he studied effector neuro-active peptides mediating autonomic behavior cascades/pathways in insects.
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Anna Marie Kenney, Ph.D.
Dr. Kenney was recruited to join the faculty of the Departments of Neurological Surgery and Cancer Biology at Vanderbilt in January 2011. She received her BA in Biology from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 1991. She then carried out her graduate research in Yale University's Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program under the supervision of Jeffery D. Kocsis, PhD in the Department of Neurology. There, she studied how peripheral nerve injury triggers signaling pathways that regulate nerve regeneration. This work was largely supported by the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Paralyzed Veteran's Association, and this patient-scientist link inspired Dr. Kenney to continue her scientific training with an emphasis on basic research that yields insight into human nervous system pathologies. She conducted her post-doctoral studies with Dr. David Rowitch in the Department of Pediatric Oncology at Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. There, she investigated how aberrant control of cell division can impair normal brain development and result in pediatric brain tumors.
In 2005 Dr. Kenney was recruited to the Department of Cancer Biology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where as an Assistant Member with a joint appointment at Weill Cornell Medical College she established her independent research lab. Then and now, her research addresses questions pertaining to how signal transduction pathways interact with each other to regulate gene expression and post-translational protein modifications that impact upon neural precursor proliferation, differentiation, and transformation into brain tumor cells. The work focuses heavily on the Sonic hedgehog signaling pathway due to its involvement in critical processes of brain development and tumorigenesis, and she uses of primary cultures, in vivo models, and biochemical/genetic approaches. She has published many well-received articles and reviews in the fields of developmental neurobiology and cancer biology and her training uniquely positions her to bridge the gaps between these two fields. Dr. Kenney's research into pediatric brain tumorigenesis is supported by federal (NIH) funding as well as numerous private foundations, including Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, National Brain Tumor Society, and James S. McDonnell Foundation.
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Cheryl Kinnard, RN, CCRC
Cheryl Kinnard has been employed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center since 2006 as a research nurse. She joined the Department of Neurological Surgery as the research coordinator for the Southeastern Regional Study of Adult Brain Tumors in April 2011. This NIH funded epidemiology study focuses on potential risk factors for primary adult brain tumors. Ms. Kinnard obtained her Associates in Nursing from Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN. She has been a registered nurse since 1979 and has dedicated over the last decade to coordinating clinical trials. She has coordinated several oncology trials, first at Nashville General Hospital as their first research nurse and then at Sarah Cannon Research Institute. At Vanderbilt, she has coordinated pharmaceutical sponsored studies, investigator initiated studies, device trials, medication trials, interventional and non-interventional trials as well as vaccine trials. Her duties include all aspects of research; IRB submissions, start up and close out of trial, patient enrollment and follow up. She is responsible for assisting Dr. Thompson with research activities associated with the Molecular Tissue Repository and the clinical database for the repository. She has maintained her certification as a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals since 2003.
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Jialiang Wang, Ph.D.
Dr. Wang is an assistant professor of Neurological Surgery and Director, Neurosurgical Oncology Laboratory. His research focuses on the study of signaling pathways implicated in the therapeutic resistance of brain tumor stem cells, particularly the Notch pathway, with a long-term goal of translating understanding of these pathways into innovative treatments that effectively target cancer stem cells or sensitize these cells to conventional chemo-radiotherapy. Dr. Wang's laboratory is also interested in patient-tailored therapies for brain tumors through developing pre-clinical model systems that resemble the molecular complexity of human tumors. Another focus of the laboratory is to develop novel molecular probes specific to brain tumor stem cells that may facilitate study of cancer stem cell biology.
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Zaher Nahle, Ph.D.
Dr. Nahlé is an assistant professor of Neurological Surgery, with a joint appointment in Cancer Biology. His research focuses on studying nutrient-gene interactions in the context of chronic pathologies, with particular emphasis on cancer-associated metabolic patterns and pediatric neuro-oncology. Ongoing projects in Dr. Nahlé's laboratory investigate the biology of cancer networks and the complexity of their microenvironment. This work, interdisciplinary in nature, seeks to delineate the molecular mechanisms involved and exploit unconventional metabolic-based approaches to counteract hyperproliferative signals in cancer. Other studies in the laboratory are designed to probe inextricable links between insulin resistance and cellular transformation, and modulate energy expenditure in chronic diseases and other obesity-related disorders. The overall objective of this laboratory is to better understand etiologies associated with complex diseases and translate this knowledge into preventions, interventions, and cures.
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