Advancing groundbreaking brain cancer research through a Sontag Foundation award

Medical innovation often occurs when pioneering research ideas and bold, thoughtful philanthropy come together. UMass Chan Medical School cancer biologist William Flavahan, PhD, is advancing his studies of the genetic processes leading to brain tumors through an esteemed award from the Sontag Foundation. Since receiving the four-year, $600,000 Distinguished Scientist Award in December 2021, Dr. Flavahan’s lab has progressed toward the ultimate goal—the development of more effective ways to treat brain tumors.

Founded in 2002 by Rick Sontag and the late Susan Sontag, who had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, the Sontag Foundation is one of the largest private funders of brain cancer research in the United States. To date, over $50 million has been awarded to promising researchers pursuing transformative ideas. After a competitive scientific review and site visit, the foundation received a record number of applications for the 2021 award, selecting Dr. Flavahan, along with five other exceptional scientists.

“I am incredibly honored to be a recipient of this very prestigious award,” said Dr. Flavahan, assistant professor of molecular, cell and cancer biology. “Changes to the epigenome are ubiquitous in brain cancer, yet much remains to be discovered about how these changes guide brain tumor biology.”

“We want to fuel significant advances in brain cancer research which is why, through a competitive process, we award grants to scientists who demonstrate promise for making scientific and medical breakthroughs in brain cancer research. Dr. Flavahan is a terrific addition to the Sontag Distinguished Scientist Award community and we know he will continue to make great strides to advance the field,” Rick Sontag said.

The Sontag-funded study will examine how epigenetic defects may play a role in primary pediatric glioma, the leading cause of cancer deaths in children. Specifically, the Flavahan lab is researching how defects in the epigenome may both trigger the onset of brain tumors and make them resistant to treatments.

Dr. Flavahan and colleagues made the groundbreaking discovery that epigenetic controls can go awry and turn on genes called oncogenes, which may turn normal cells into tumors, including gliomas. Previous work he performed in collaboration with other Sontag awardees demonstrated how epigenetic dysfunction led to the development of a class of adult glioma.

The findings suggest that new drugs targeting gene controls could be effective against these hard-to-treat tumors.

“My studies seek to further expand this paradigm to other poorly understood mutations that are known to drive brain tumors, and to develop new technologies to further examine the role of the epigenome in how brain tumors respond in the clinic,” Dr. Flavahan said. “Understanding these processes may help guide the development of new treatments or help us mobilize existing treatments in new ways.”

Since starting Sontag Foundation-funded work in December 2021, Dr. Flavahan and his lab have started developing and implementing a novel sequencing method. This approach is capable of directly reading changes to the DNA, either epigenetic modifications made by the cells or damage caused by a chemotherapeutic like temozolomide. Hopefully, this will lead to greater understanding of how DNA is stored, modified and damaged in brain cancer cells.

The Sontag Foundation is known for fostering collaboration among previous and current awardees. At the foundation’s annual scientific retreat, held in February 2022 in Ponte Vedra, Florida, Dr. Flavahan attended panel discussions and other events, while also making the most of valuable, unstructured opportunities for networking with other innovators in brain cancer research.

“The Distinguished Scientist Award network is an incredible scientific resource,” said Dr. Flavahan. “Many previous awardees are highly successful giants in the field, and the opportunity to connect and collaborate with them provided by the retreat and other events held by the foundation is
an incredible resource.”

Dr. Flavahan joins UMass Chan’s Mark Johnson, MD, PhD, the Maroun Semaan Chair in Neurosurgery and chair and professor of neurosurgery, who received the Distinguished Scientist Award in 2004 and serves on the Sontag Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board.

We are saddened to share that Susan Sontag passed away in September. Our condolences to Rick and his family.