Richard Vile, Ph.D., receives grant to study aggressive pediatric brain tumors

Richard Vile, Ph.D. (MMED ’98), Department of Molecular Medicine and Department of Immunology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, received a $1.1 million Quantum Grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels. These funds are awarded to support research on pediatric cancers with low survival rates.

Dr. Vile and his research team develop experimental cancer therapies based on stimulating antitumor immune responses. They will use the grant to focus on new treatments for aggressive pediatric brain tumors, particularly tumors of the brainstem, which have a dismal prognosis because their anatomical location is an area susceptible to toxicities associated with reactions of tumors to treatment.

Dr. Vile is a professor of immunology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.