We warmly congratulate our colleague Lisa Gabler-Pamer, PhD on being named “Researcher of the Month” for March 2026. With this award, the Medical University of Vienna recognizes outstanding research achievements each month, selected by an independent panel of experts.
She received the award for her recent study providing new insights into the development of so-called embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) — an extremely rare and highly aggressive form of brain cancer in very young children. Using state-of-the-art single-cell analyses, the research team was able to show for the first time that these tumors consist of different cell types organized in a clear hierarchy that collectively drive tumor growth. The findings also point to the FGFR signaling pathway as a potential therapeutic target, opening new perspectives for targeted treatments.
More information about the research and the researcher: in the full article.
Selected literature:
- A. Beck et al., “Cellular hierarchies of embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes are shaped by oncogenic microRNAs and receptor–ligand interactions,” Nature Cancer 2025, pp. 1–21, May 2025, doi: 10.1038/s43018-025-00964-9.
- A.-I. Schiefer et al., “Multicenter Evaluation of a Novel Automated Rapid Detection System of BRAF Status in Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissues,” Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, vol. 18, no. 3, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2015.12.005.
- L. Gabler et al., “TERT expression is susceptible to BRAF and ETS-factor inhibition in BRAF V600E /TERT promoter double-mutated glioma,” Acta Neuropathol Commun, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 128, 2019, doi: 10.1186/s40478-019-0775-6.
- L. Gabler et al., “Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 promotes glioblastoma progression: a central role of integrin-mediated cell invasiveness,” Acta Neuropathol Commun, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1–16, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1186/s40478-022-01363-2.
- D. Lötsch et al., “Targeting fibroblast growth factor receptors to combat aggressive ependymoma,” Acta Neuropathol, vol. 1, p. 3, May 2021, doi: 10.1007/s00401-021-02327-x.