International fellows 2010-12
Jong Hee Chang
I have been working as a research fellow under the guidance of Dr. James Rutka since February 2010. I graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea in 1991. Then, I finished the four-year neurosurgical resident program and a two-year clinical fellowship at the same hospital, followed by a one and a half-year research fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis in February 2003. I have been working as a staff neurosurgeon in the brain tumor and neuro-oncology section of Yonsei University Hospital since 2003.
My clinical work is mostly focused on the management of brain tumours in adult patients, such as gliomas, metastases, meningiomas.. I am very interested in image-guided surgery and brain mapping during surgery. However, I have realized the limitations of current treatment modalities and felt the necessity of basic research for brain tumours to extend my knowledge about tumour biology, to try to find the treatment with a new concept, and eventually to help patients with a malignant brain tumour.
Now, I am very happy to work at the BTRC, one of the most updated and organized brain tumour research centers in the world. I hope and believe this one-year experience at the BTRC will be a momentous period in my life.
Livia Garzia
I received a degree in medical biotechnology from the University of Naples in Italy in 2002. I then went on to pursue my PhD in life sciences at the Open University in Cambridge, UK. My research has been focused on two nervous system tumours – medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma – in which I studied altered non-coding RNAs involved in the disease pathogenesis. I have always been interested in how basic research can impact the outcome of severe diseases like paediatric brain cancers. I have always felt that better integration between clinicians and researchers and new tools to improve the tumours therapy is extremely important. Dr. Taylor’s exciting new model of medulloblastoma which recapitulates the progression of the human pathology inspired me and I am thrilled to be starting a research fellowship in his group to study and improve this genetic model of medulloblastoma. I believe that our research will provide the scientific community with a new powerful tool to develop new anti-cancer drugs and treatments.
Fabio Morgese
A biochemist by training, I achieved a PhD in molecular medicine at the University of Trieste, Italy, in 2009. During my PhD, my research was focused on the identification and characterization of novel interactors of Fanconi Anemia (FA) proteins, in order to find new insights in the FA genetic disorder. Since my master’s degree, I have always been interested in understanding the molecular basis underlying diseases, since they are of fundamental importance in finding new, more effective and less invasive therapies. I joined the BTRC in June 2009 as post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Jane McGlade’s lab, intrigued by the connections between cell polarity, development and tumorigenesis. My work is currently focused on the molecular links involving epithelial cell polarity and other two pathways related to the development and growth of organs. Through this research, we hope to shed new light on cellular mechanisms leading to the alteration of cellular architecture, tissue growth and ultimately cancer.
Yuzo Terakawa
I joined Dr. Rutka’s laboratory at the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre in April 2010 and have recently taken part in a research project investigating the genes related to the development and tumorigenesis of medulloblastoma.
I graduated from Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine in 1999 and finished a resident program in neurosurgery in 2005. After I finished my residency, I worked as a general neurosurgeon, mainly treating patients with cerebrovascular diseases. During this period, I was also engaged in several clinical studies concerning the neuro-imaging of brain tumours with positron emission tomography (PET) and in neurophysiological experiments with magnetoencephalography (MEG) at the Osaka City University Hospital.
The Osaka City University Hospital is one of the leading hospitals treating patients with brain tumours in Japan. However, we do not yet have an organized brain tumour research team in our department. Therefore, I applied to Dr. Rutka’s laboratory to learn the skills and techniques necessary for basic research using a molecular biological approach. I am now so pleased and excited about this great opportunity to be able to be a part of Dr. Rutka’s laboratory.