Marco Gallo
Associate Professor
PhD
Contact information
Location
Preferred method of communication
ADMIN ASSISTANT
Benedicta Odame-Ankrah
Email: b.odameankrah@ucalgary.ca
Office: 403-220-3029
Research and teaching
Area of Focus
- Cancer stem cell epigenomics in brain tumors
Summary of Research
Our group studies the epigenetics and epigenomics of brain tumors, with a special emphasis on glioblastoma (GBM). The modest success in treating and curing GBM is at least in part because this cancer is very heterogeneous, and not all tumor cells have the same functional properties. A few cells in these tumors behave like stem cells in a normal tissue, and are responsible for the continuous growth of the malignancy and its recurrence after treatment. We believe that targeting these cancer stem cells will be fundamental in fully eradicating GBM. We have recently discovered that cancer stem cells in GBM have a characteristic way of packaging their DNA. We are currently trying to characterize how cancer stem cells do this, and we are looking for ways to exploit this vulnerability with next generation therapeutics.
Biography
Dr. Marco Gallo obtained his BSc degree at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC), and he did his honors thesis under the supervision of Dr David Baillie. He then moved to The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC) to work on his PhD in Dr Donald Riddle's laboratory. In 2010 he started his postdoctoral fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, ON) and worked with Dr Peter Dirks, the founder of the cancer stem cell field in brain tumors. Here, Dr. Gallo specialized in epigenetic and epigenomic techniques
