Season 4 Ep. 11: Breaking Down the Molecular Science of Cancer with Dr. Craig Horbinski

            What is molecular science and genetic testing? It’s the analysis of a patient’s brain tissue at the DNA and RNA level to identify mutations that can help diagnose and classify neurological diseases.

A leader in the field, Dr. Craig Horbinski directs the Neuropathology Division at Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University. His clinical specialty is in molecular diagnostics of brain tumors. His major areas of research involve the effect of IDH mutations on the glioma microenvironment, and repurposing chemotherapies against aggressive meningiomas. Having helped pioneer the use of genomic DNA methylation profiling, he has increased prognostic stratification of primary and metastatic brain tumors.

To date, Dr. Horbinski has authored over 210 peer-reviewed publications, including original work from his laboratory in journals such as the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Blood, and Neuro Oncology. He has obtained extramural research support as a principal investigator from multiple sources, including the NIH and the American Brain Tumor Association. His NCI-funded brain tumor bank has supported over 100 intramural and extramural research projects, including seminal clinical trials involving nanotherapy and oncolytic virotherapy in glioblastomas. He has delivered over 110 invited talks and platform presentations on brain tumors at a variety of national and international settings. Dr. Horbinski is an Associate Editor of Neuro Oncology and Neuro Oncology Advances, and is on the editorial board of the top two neuropathology journals, Acta Neuropathologica and Brain Pathology.

We sit down with Dr. Horbinski to discuss the complexities of brain tumors and how his lab is looking into mutIDH1 and how it dramatically alters the glioma’s micro-environmental landscape by preventing the thrombosis-necrosis phenomenon that is characteristic of IDH1 wild-type gliomas. Furthermore, mutIDH1 increases the risk of seizures in patients. He explains why his team’s work may improve diagnostic and prognostic accuracy.

For more information on methylation profiling or for patient care, please send samples to Northwestern Department of Pathology.

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