St. Jude Research
Department of Developmental Neurobiology

Shared Resources: The Xenograft Core

Developing essential patient-derived xenografts to be utilized in translational research.

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Overview

The Xenograft Core is dedicated to establishing and expanding patient-derived xenograft models generated from donated pediatric tumor tissue. Our goal is to serve as a resource for molecularly characterized xenograft tumor models freely distributed to requestors both internally and outside the institution via the Childhood Solid Tumor Network and the Neurobiology Brain Tumor Program.

The lab provides services for the handling, processing, propagation and storage of solid tumor and brain tumor specimens. The four full time core personnel have expertise in murine injections, biological sample collection and clinical observations of xenograft tumor models.

Science Team

Impact

Xenografts provide valuable support for investigators studying pediatric solid tumors and brain tumors. Xenografts help establish common themes across distinct diseases and are essential in preclinical testing of novel therapeutics which can drive new effective treatment strategies in the clinic. The Xenograft Core offers over 300 different models and over 35,000 tumor samples, with a myriad of tumor histologies and disease stages.

two women looking at a whiteboard

Selected publications

Identification of therapeutic targets in rhabdomyosarcoma through integrated genomic, epigenomic, and proteomic analyses
Stewart et al. Cancer Cell, 2018
Orthotopic patient-derived xenografts of paediatric solid tumours
Stewart E et al. Nature, 2017
Targeting the DNA repair pathway in Ewing sarcoma.
Stewart E et al. Cell Rep, 2014

About the manager

Brittney Gordon

brittney.gordon@stjude.org

Brittney Gordon received her BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry (with honors) from the University of Memphis. Brittney has worked in the Animal Resources Center at St. Jude, providing technical research support for investigators, and as a preclinical researcher in the Center of In Vivo Imaging and Therapeutics where she coordinated preclinical testing and conducted surgeries and utilized a variety of imaging modalities. In 2017, she joined the Department of Developmental Neurobiology to start the Xenograft Core where she applies her expertise in preclinical care and support to expand a pivotal resource here at St. Jude.

The team

  • JaKayla Johnson, Researcher
  • Kaitlin Lord, Senior Researcher
  • Samantha Walls, Researcher
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN, 38105-3678 USA
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