Research internship glioblastoma-brain assembloids

Introduction - Glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive primary brain tumor, remains a significant clinical challenge due to its pronounced heterogeneity, cellular plasticity, and complex interactions with the neuroglial microenvironment. Therapeutic progress has been limited in part by the lack of preclinical models accurately reflecting these features. Advanced three-dimensional models, such as GBM-brain assembloids, integrating patient-derived GBM spheroids with human cortical organoids, overcome this limitation by providing a physiologically relevant system to study tumor invasion, plasticity, and microenvironmental signaling. 

Objectives - During this 3-month research internship, the student will develop and characterize GBM–brain assembloids. The project will investigate how different culture media affect GBM and brain organoid cells, and how the healthy brain microenvironment influences GBM cellular states and invasive behavior. The student will also analyze single-cell RNA-sequencing data using Seurat (R) to investigate genotype- and treatment-induced GBM plasticity, and how this plasticity is influenced by the healthy brain environment. Finally, the assembloid model will be used to study GBM invasion and evaluate potential invasion inhibitors. The project combines wet-lab techniques, including cell culture, organoid/assembloid generation, immunofluorescence, and qPCR, with dry-lab single-cell data analysis.