College of Medicine
Sarkisian Lab
Led by Matthew Sarkisian · Neuroscience
What we study
The lab studies how tiny sensory structures called primary cilia influence brain development and diseases like brain tumors. They use gene transfer and experiments to understand how these structures affect normal and abnormal growth.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Cells in a dish
- Mice
- No coding
- Projects
- 4
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Diffuse midline glioma (DMG)
Researching how primary cilia affect the growth and treatment of this aggressive pediatric brain tumor.
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG)
Studying how primary cilia contribute to this rare and difficult-to-treat brain tumor in children.
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Ependymomas
Investigating how primary cilia influence the development and progression of this type of brain tumor.
Role of Tumor Cell Primary Cilia in Regulating Galectin-7 Expression in a Mouse Model of Glioblastoma
The lab studies how tiny hair‑like structures on brain tumor cells affect a protein called Galectin‑7 that can help tumors grow. Using a mouse model of glioblastoma, they found that cells without cilia do not make Galectin‑7, while cells that can still form cilia do. The work suggests Galectin‑7 depends on cilia and may influence how the immune system reacts to tumors.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 504
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Breaking down glioma primary cilia disassembly
2025 · Neuro-Oncology Advances
Studied how brain cancer cells break down their cilia to divide, using proteins like AURKA and HDAC6.
- Aurora kinase A inhibition plus Tumor Treating Fields suppress glioma cell proliferation in a cilium-independent manner
2024 · Translational Oncology
Shows how combining Aurora kinase A inhibitors with Tumor Treating Fields can slow glioblastoma growth.
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- IMMU-21. OVEREXPRESSING CAR T-CELL GLUCOSE TRANSPORTER TO ENHANCE ANTI-TUMOR ACTIVITY IN GLIOBLASTOMA
2024 · Neuro-Oncology
Tests whether boosting glucose transport in CAR-T cells improves their ability to fight glioblastoma.
- Get to know your neighbors with a SNAQ™: A framework for single cell spatial neighborhood analysis in immunohistochemical images
2024 · Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
Created a tool to analyze how immune cells interact with tumor cells in cancer images.
- KR158 Spheres Harboring Slow-Cycling Cells Recapitulate High-Grade Glioma Features in an Immunocompetent System
2024 · Cells
Builds a mouse model of glioblastoma to study slow-cycling cells and their role in tumor growth.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Matthew Sarkisian hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.