Gintvile Valinciute is a postdoctoral researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She investigates cellular resistance mechanisms in pediatric medulloblastoma to design targeted therapies. In this Postdoc Portrait interview, she shares the importance of her work and what she hopes her research will accomplish.
Targeting Medulloblastoma and Overcoming Treatment Resistance
Q | What scientific problem are you trying to solve?
I work to develop more effective and selective therapies for aggressive pediatric brain tumors, particularly medulloblastoma, where treatment resistance and tumor recurrence remain major challenges. My research focuses on identifying vulnerabilities that can be therapeutically exploited to eliminate tumor cells while minimizing toxicity to normal tissues. I am also interested in understanding how these tumor cells develop, adapt and survive treatment, and the biological mechanisms that contribute to tumor progression. Ultimately, I aim to translate these mechanistic insights into orally bioavailable, pharmacologically effective therapies that can improve treatment outcomes for children with high-risk brain tumors.
Q | What drew you to neuro-oncology?
I started working in the field of pediatric neuro-oncology during my PhD studies. What first drew me to this field was the scientific curiosity of understanding how tumors with relatively low mutation rates can give rise to some of the most aggressive cancers. As I became more involved in the field, I also got to know a community tirelessly working to develop better treatment options for children with cancer, as well as the patients and families themselves. Their resilience, strength, and spirit deeply inspired me and shaped the direction of my career. I became increasingly interested in pursuing a more translational approach to research, where discoveries in the laboratory can ultimately contribute to developing new therapies and improving outcomes for children with cancer.
Translational Pediatric Oncology
Q | What’s one thing you learned from your research that you didn’t expect?
Working on my research question has led to many surprising findings, but nothing has humbled me more than the adaptability of cancer cells. I have seen how they exploit the redundancy built into our cellular security systems and how quickly they can adapt to survive in harsh environments. Even after months of remission, our model cells can change, adapt and regrow. These experiences have taught me that cancer is not a static disease, but a constantly evolving system capable of finding new ways to survive when we try to eliminate it.
Q | If your research succeeds, what could it change for science or society?
The ultimate goal of my research is to develop a clinically actionable therapy, either as a single drug or in combination with existing treatments, that can reduce tumor burden or, ideally, eliminate the tumor. If successful, this work could provide a new therapeutic option for children with aggressive brain tumors who currently have limited treatment options. Beyond improving survival, I hope that developing more effective and selective therapies could reduce the burden of treatment and improve quality of life for patients and their families. More broadly, understanding the vulnerabilities that allow these tumors to survive treatment could also provide new insights into cancer biology and inform the development of therapies for other difficult-to-treat cancers.
Q | What question are you most excited to answer next?
I am most excited to understand how we can specifically target chemotherapy-resistant cells that survive treatment and pave the way for tumor recurrence. What makes these cells uniquely capable of surviving therapy, and can we identify vulnerabilities that allow us to eliminate them before they have a chance to drive relapse?
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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