Cheng-Chia Wu

I am a physician scientist with dual M.D./Ph.D. degrees and is currently a fourth-year Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at the Department of Radiation Oncology, at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. My clinical focus is on pediatric radiation oncology and I run a laboratory dedicated to pediatric brain tumors. I am interested is in pediatric and central nervous system (CNS) malignancies. My area of expertise is in radiation biology, cancer research, and tumor vasculature. I completed my MD/PhD training studying the role of 20-HETE in the microvasculature and how it contributes to hypertension in preclinical murine models. This was supported by the NIH-F30 funding mechanism. From there, it led to my interests in tumor vascular biology and radiation oncology. I am currently focused on pediatric CNS malignancy research with an emphasis on diffuse midline glioma/diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma and high grade glioma. I am interested in using new technologies to improve drug delivery and studying the role in which the blood brain barrier plays. I am examining the use of non-invasive focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated blood brain barrier-opening to enhance drug delivery, in combination with radiation, to explore new treatment paradigms. Our preclinical data has since supported the first FUS study in patients with recurrent diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. This study is approved by the FDA and our institutional IRB (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04804709) we are currently enrolling patients. In addition, we are also exploring the usage of convection enhanced delivery (CED) for drug delivery in brain tumors. Lastly we are interested in discovering new ways to mitigate brain tumor treatment associated toxicities. My research goals are to establish the use of new technologies and bridge the gap between the laboratory and the clinic, and vice versa. As a pediatric radiation oncologist, my clinical research interest is to improve the treatment workflow for children requiring radiation. This includes: improving patient safety, managing the anxiety of children and their parents, and expanding medical education in undeserved population. My hope is that these projects will lay the groundwork for novel treatment strategies in children.