Cancer Modeling Laboratory
Modeling Pediatric Leukemia to Overcome Therapy Resistance
The Nemours Children’s Cancer Modeling Laboratory in the Delaware Valley studies why some childhood leukemias resist treatment, and how those barriers might be overcome. Our work focuses on the bone marrow microenvironment, the supportive tissue surrounding blood cells that can unintentionally protect leukemia cells from chemotherapy and influence how they respond to treatment.
Our team engineers biologically relevant models that replicate what happens inside a child's body. These models go beyond traditional cell culture to capture the complex interactions that drive treatment resistance. By studying how leukemia cells use their surrounding environment for protection, we're uncovering new vulnerabilities that could make resistant cancers treatable again.
As part of the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation Institute for Cancer and Blood Disorders, our lab contributes to broader efforts to advance pediatric leukemia research. Our long-term goal is to translate these discoveries into more effective therapies and inform clinical trial development for children with leukemia.
Principal Investigator
Sonali Barwe, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Research Team
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- Research Interests
- Notable Projects
- Affiliations & Support
Our Areas of Focus
Patient-Derived Xenograft Models for Treatment Testing
We develop research models using leukemia samples from pediatric patients that preserve how the disease behaves in children. These patient-derived models allow us to evaluate new drug combinations and treatment strategies in the laboratory before they move into clinical trials, helping identify approaches with the greatest potential benefit.
Bone Marrow Microenvironment & Treatment Resistance
Leukemia cells interact with their surrounding bone marrow tissue in ways that can shield them from chemotherapy. We study protective interactions such as physical contacts, signaling pathways, and cell surface receptors to understand how leukemia cells evade treatment and where intervention may disrupt those survival mechanisms.
Combination Therapies to Induce Remission
Our work explores drug combinations that target multiple survival pathways at once, including epigenetic therapies. By attacking leukemia cells through complementary mechanisms, we aim to improve treatment effectiveness for children with hard-to-treat forms of leukemia.
Selected Research Highlights
Our team is involved in a range of reseach, including:
- Building a translational research platform using patient-derived xenograft models that preserve individual tumor characteristics, enabling precision evaluation of novel anti-leukemia therapies before they reach clinical trials.
- Advancing a novel immunotherapy approach following our identification of mesothelin as a previously unrecognized therapeutic target in certain pediatric leukemia subtypes, now validating mesothelin-targeting bispecific antibodies in preclinical models.
- Identifying cell surface receptors that mediate bone marrow–induced protection of leukemia cells during chemotherapy, with the goal of disrupting these survival signals.
- Developing combinatorial epigenetic therapies using patient-derived xenograft models to overcome treatment resistance in pediatric leukemia.
- Studying the role of ion transporters in cell adhesion, with implications for how leukemia cells anchor within protective bone marrow niches.
Publications
Research from the Cancer Modeling Laboratory contributes to the scientific understanding of pediatric leukemia biology, therapy resistance, and translational treatment strategies.
Research Collaborations
The Cancer Modeling Laboratory contributes to research within the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation Institute for Cancer and Blood Disorders. We support collaboration across basic, translational, and clinically focused pediatric cancer research programs.
We work closely with the Cancer Stem Cell Laboratory, strengthening studies of leukemia biology, treatment resistance, and disease modeling through shared scientific expertise.
Grant Funding
Our research is supported by competitive federal and foundation funding that enables sustained investigation into pediatric leukemia biology and preclinical model development.
Department of Defense (DOD)
Idea Development Award | (2022-2026) | Barwe, S. (PI)
Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation
Foundation Award | (2022-2027) | Barwe, S. (PI)
Research in Context
Our lab contributes to research that informs pediatric care and connects to broader areas of scientific study at Nemours.
Cancer Research
RESEARCH AREA
Investigators study childhood cancers to improve diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship through discovery science, clinical trials, and systemwide collaboration.
Center for Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Research
DELAWARE VALLEY & FLORIDA
Our investigators advance pediatric cancer care through innovative research, multistate clinical trials, and specialized programs in Delaware and Florida.
Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
CLINICAL CARE
Comprehensive care for children delivered by multidisciplinary teams across Nemours Children’s hospitals and locations in Delaware Valley and Florida.