Dr. Dave Langenau

Biography

Dave Langenau is a Professor in the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on understanding relapse mechanisms in pediatric cancers, specifically T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS). By utilizing zebrafish models, his laboratory employs chemical genetic approaches to identify novel modulators of growth and relapse in these cancers. In the case of T-ALL, Langenau aims to uncover the genomic changes associated with the survival and regrowth of leukemia cells that drive relapse, which affects thousands of children and adults each year in the United States. His work highlights the challenge posed by relapsing T-ALL, which has a poor prognosis and often leads to death in a significant percentage of those affected. Additionally, Langenau investigates the RAS pathway activation in ERMS and has developed a transgenic zebrafish model that mimics the molecular underpinnings of human ERMS. Through his research, he aims to identify new drug targets for developing small molecule inhibitors to enhance treatment options for these aggressive cancers.

Research Interests