Brain Tumor Research Lab: A Preclinical Resource for Pediatric Cancer Researchers

Technology Overview

Dr. James M. Olson

Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. To identify and evaluate new treatments, preclinical models that accurately reflect the biological heterogeneity of pediatric brain tumors are needed.

Pediatric neuro-oncologist James M. Olson, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist and biotech cofounder, reported in Nature Medicine in 2018 on more than 50 patient-derived models of pediatric brain tumors that had been generated in his laboratory. The Olson team comprehensively characterized 30 patient-derived orthotopic xenograft animal models and 7 cell lines representing 14 molecular subgroups of pediatric brain tumors. Examination of histology, immunohistochemistry, gene expression, DNA methylation, copy number, and mutational profiles showed that the models were representative of the human tumors from which they were derived. Dr. Olson and team saw the need for a way to facilitate the sharing of these models and cell lines for accelerating research on key oncogenic drivers and evaluating novel treatment strategies.

To better share research resources, Dr. Olson created the Brain Tumor Resource Lab (BTRL), which maintains a wide variety of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and cell lines that can be distributed to scientists conducting preclinical studies on pediatric brain tumors. Models and cell lines available from BTRL include medulloblastoma, diffuse midline gliomas/diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, ependymoma, pineoblastoma, neuroblastoma, and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor. These lines can be used in drug development (e.g., target validation).

These resources can be ordered on the BTRL web page. For nonprofit/academic entities, ordering requires signing a simple click-through material transfer agreement (MTA) that typically enables shipping within 1 week. Industry partners submit an inquiry on the website and the business office will work with them to establish a licensing agreement. Terms of use include that BTRL can track how the materials are used and the lines received will not be shared. Additionally, the tissue culture lines should not be implanted into mice and the PDX cell lines should not be used for tissue culture.

Funding for BTRL includes the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Seattle Run of Hope, the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).

The Olson Lab has deep expertise in characterizing therapeutic candidates structurally and functionally, in vitro and in vivo. Dr. Olson is interested in partnerships that take advantage of his extensive experience working with industry partners and cofounding biotech companies to advance development, preclinical and clinical testing, and clinical delivery of novel therapies for pediatric cancers — and more broadly to discover protein/peptide therapeutics for a wide range of pediatric diseases.

Stage of Development

• Preclinical in vitro
• Preclinical in vivo

Partnering Opportunities

• Collaborative research and development
• Sponsored research agreement
• Consultation agreement
• Research tool license agreement
• Tissue samples and cell lines
• Clinical trial collaboration

Relevant Publication

Brabetz S, Leary SES, Gröbner SN, … Olson, JM. A biobank of patient-derived pediatric brain tumor models. Nat Med. 2018;24(11):1752-1761.

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