Optimizing Pre-clinical Models of Admantinomatous Craniopharyngioma

This focused research proposal fills 2 very specific gaps regarding the research tools that are available to help us better understand the rare and highly morbid brain tumor, Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma (ACP). Through our leadership of a unique research group, Advancing Treatment for Pediatric Craniopharyngioma, our laboratory has a considerable tissue resource, which we have used to derive unique Patient Derived Organoid (PDO) and Patient Derived Xenograft (PDX) models. These are critical tools for preclinical research that the ACP community has previously lacked, and in this proposal, we will make specific refinements to these models, allowing them to be used in the design of clinical trials for children and adults with ACP. Project Number: 1R03CA308467-01 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI) | Principal Investigator: Todd Hankinson (+1 co-PI) | Institution: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER, Aurora, CO | Award Amount: $156,000 | Activity Code: R03 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 CTH-Z (56)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11290587