A researcher funded by Brain Tumour Research is taking a pivotal step in her research career.
Dr Sara Badodi at our Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London has been promoted to a junior principal investigator (PI). The role will see her lead her own research group within the Centre focused on medulloblastoma – the most common, high-grade paediatric brain tumour.
Dr Badodi joined the team at Queen Mary in 2019, following a generous donation from Peter and Jane Gardiner, who lost their son, Ollie, to a medulloblastoma in 2017, aged 13.
Her work will be focused on studying the mechanisms that regulate the activities of proteins which modify the genetic code (DNA) and understanding how these events are involved in the development and maintenance of paediatric brain tumours in order to identify ways to treat them in a more effective and less toxic way.
Dr Badodi said: “Our ultimate goal is to identify events occurring only in the tumour cells – and not in the normal tissue – to develop therapies aiming at killing the tumour while preserving the healthy cells in the developing brain of children.”
Dr Karen Noble, our Director of Research, Policy and Innovation, said: “Brain Tumour Research is dedicated to funding continuous and sustainable scientific research. It is therefore vital that talented researchers are attracted to, and remain in, the field of brain tumour research, and early career research training is a key part of our Centre of Excellence award.
“We send our congratulations to Dr Badodi on her well-deserved promotion to junior PI. This is an excellent step towards more independent researchers in the UK brain tumour sector, increasing capacity and getting us closer to a cure.”
Read an interview with Dr Badodi explaining more about her research on our blog.
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