Today, Megan presented her poster at the Siteman Cancer Center through the Leah Menshouse Springer Summer Program! During the summer she worked with her mentor, Jit, to investigate how NF1 shapes gut immune cell populations in mice. We're so proud of everything she accomplished!

New style for the lab! We debuted our fresh Gutmann Lab tees at last weekend's summer picnic. Great weather, great food, and even better company made for a fantastic day together! ☀️👕

This weekend we celebrated our 4th NF Family Day!🎉🌞Between St. Louis BBQ, crafts and so many fun games, Corina shared how our lab is pioneering new NF1 research. It's always inspiring to answer questions and connect directly with the incredible families driving our research. See you next year! #NF1

Another lab meeting highlight! 🌴💘 Vanesa introduced the latest couple in the villa: neurons and tumors. Their relationship is full of chemistry, attraction, and... a whole lot of red flags. 🚩💔 Thankfully we are here to work things out!

STL summer heat is no joke, so we paused the science for an ice cream break! 🍦 But the peace didn't last long and our gloves came off with a few rounds of Uno. Turns out we take "Draw 4" very seriously in this lab. Feel free to join us next time! #Lablife

Check out the latest Genes & Development! 🚨 Enquan introduces PANCOS: a breakthrough PA-human cerebral assembloids that recapitulate tumor pathology and can be used to discover growth dependencies. Intrigued by our animated cover? Dive into the full story here: genesdev.cshlp.org/content/40/9...

David Gutmann, MD, PhD, received the Hans-Dietrich Hermann Lectureship in honor of his outstanding achievements in translational neuro-oncology from the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany. Congratulations!

We are so proud of Vanesa for winning the DBBS postbac 3-minute elevator pitch! 🎉 She was handsomely rewarded with delicious donuts. Her work in the lab explores how cancer cells communicate with neurons in vitro, revealing how tumors may recruit neural activity to fuel growth. #YouGotThis👏

We are celebrating early Earth Day by recognizing Stephanie and Jenny! 🌎💚 Their leadership helped our lab earn Green Lab certification, and today they were honored at the Green Carpet Awards by the Green Labs Initiative. We are very grateful for their commitment to a more sustainable science! 🌱

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone! 🍀 With green fits and a whole lot of festive science, we’re celebrating curiosity, teamwork, and a little extra magic in this lucky day. 🌈

Lab meetings are the best place to polish your presentation skills and let your creativity shine! This week Chloe and Elvedina did a fantastic job explaining their projects and leading discussions. They have not been long in the lab but they are improving at lightspeed. Truly the best!

In their Perspective, Lori Forster and @gutmannlab.bsky.social apply the nested ecosystems concept to #glioma, clarify how diverse risk factors shape CNS oncobiology, and highlight new opportunities for targeted disease‑mitigation strategies. Read: doi.org/10.1242/dmm....

We kicked off the month with a double birthday celebration! 🎉 Lori and Chloe were treated to a homemade vegan, gluten-free cake on their request (about 95% chocolate 😉). Taking time to celebrate together the good moments matters now more than ever.

Happy Hanukkah from the Gutmann lab!! 🕎 We are celebrating the 3rd day/4rd night with some delicious sufganiyot. May the lights of Hanukkah bring everyone warmth and joy in this special season.

Happy Hanukkah from the Gutmann lab!! 🕎 We are celebrating the 3rd day/4rd night with some delicious sufganiyot. May the lights of Hanukkah bring everyone warmth and joy in this season.

We’re grateful to Penny’s Flight Foundation and Kate Doerge for featuring our lab's research as part of their mission to raise awareness and critical funds to #ENDNF. This clip is just a glimpse! Go watch the full video and learn more about their amazing work on the Penny’s Flight YouTube channel.

Join us in celebrating Dr. Gutmann as the NFX 2025 Strength & Honor honoree for his dedication to NF research and mentorship! We also recognize Harper Grace Durham, the Head & Heart honoree, whose strength and advocacy inspire the entire NF community. Watch their shared story in the video below:

2025 - Head and Heart honoree, Dr. David Gutmann, and Strength and Honor honoree, Harper Grace

YouTube video by NFX Detroit

youtube.com

Celebrations are in full swing in the Gutmann Lab! 🎉 Yesterday’s Labsgiving and white elephant were a great way to appreciate the wonderful people who make this science family special. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season! 🎁❄️

Wishing you a boo-tiful Halloween from the lab! 🧪🎃 May your experiments work and your candy be plentiful. 👻

Last Friday,we welcomed our friends from Forward Strides 4NF,an amazing family-founded charity that brings awareness and support to the NF center with their fundraising opportunities,like the fun annual family walk you shouldn't miss! We are grateful for their endorsement and opportunity to connect💙

The FDA approved a new cancer drug by SpringWorks Therapeutics— MEK inhibitor mirdametinib (brand name Gomekli) for adult & pediatric patients (> age 2) w/ neurofibromatosis type 1-associated plexiform neurofibromas (NF1-PN) not amenable to complete resection www.cancernetwork.com/view/fda-app...

Excited to share our latest work in Neuro-Oncology Advances! 🥳 After comparing several potential therapies, we identified lamotrigine as a promising therapy for NF1 optic glioma, showing both tumor reduction and vision protection. Check out the work of our great team!

Head-to-head preclinical treatment design prioritizes promising therapies for neurofibromatosis type 1 optic glioma clinical translation

AbstractBackground. Authenticated preclinical brain tumor models provide unprecedented opportunities to evaluate next-generation treatments. However, some

academic.oup.com

Exciting news! Our new paper is out in Neuron! We discovered how neurons drive brain tumor growth through aberrant glutamate–tyrosine kinase signaling, uncovering novel mechanisms that shape tumor progression. Grateful to our team & collaborators for making this breakthrough possible! 🧠✨

Aberrant coupling of glutamate and tyrosine kinase receptors enables neuronal control of brain-tumor growth

Anastasaki and colleagues establish a previously unknown glutamate growth dependency in pediatric low-grade brain tumors (gliomas). Glioma cells hijack normal neuron-glial molecular circuits present d...

cell.com

We are so proud of Rasha and Rui's new paper! Their single cell reveals hidden diversity in CD8+ exhausted T cells across cancers, shedding light on why patients respond differently to immunotherapy and bringing us closer to more effective therapies. Don’t miss this exciting advance from our team!

Pan-cancer single cell transcriptomic clustering reveals heterogeneous CD8+ exhausted T cell populations with different immune checkpoint inhibitor responses

In most cancers, T lymphocytes comprise an essential cellular component of the non-neoplastic microenvironment, where they have the capacity to both suppress and support tumor growth. One specializ...

tandfonline.com

We were thrilled to welcome Girl Scout Troop 222 to the lab this week! They explored science hands-on and got a glimpse of the work we do. Grateful for their curios minds and amazing energy—let’s keep inspiring the next generation of scientists! 🔬💫 #GirlsInSTEM #Troop222

This past weekend we celebrated the 3rd Annual NF Family Day - a special time to honor our patients and families, build community, and have fun! From shaved ice and giant slides to visits from the St. Louis Fire and Police Department, we’re grateful for the support and another year moving forward.

Today we celebrated two incredible members of the Gutmann lab. We'll miss Alex’s cooking tips and Talia’s humor, but we’re excited for all that lies ahead on their next adventures!

Another year, another cherised lab photo! We are excited to see some colleagues embark on new journeys and we warmly welcome our newest members. What never changes is our commitment to a happy and collaborative research environment. #Researchteam #lablife

This week we have said, "See you later" (never goodbye) to an incredible lab member! Chloe has brought joy and amazing work to the lab since her undergrad for more than 4 years. We wish her the best in NYC and her journey to med school.

We are so happy to have our friends from Penny's Flight Foundation visit last week! It was wonderful sharing the exciting NF1 research currently happening in the lab. We're so grateful for their dedication to raising NF awareness, supporting patients, and championing research. #nf1 🦋