our research partners

Dr. Javad Nazarian

Children’s National Hospital, Washington, D.C.

Research
Overview

Dr. Nazarian is Head of the Translational Program at DIPG/DMG Research Center, University Children’s Hospital in Zürich, Switzerland, a Research Collaborator at Children’s National Hospital, the Scientific Co-Chair of the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN). Tenured Associate Professor, (Adjunct Faculty) of Genomics and Precision Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

As part of his effort to identify the molecular pathways driving childhood brain cancers, Dr. Nazarian established a comprehensive biorepository which is used to establish disease preclinical models and study tumor microenvironment. He has also worked with multiple institutions and collaborators to establish an international collaborative team focusing on the development of novel clinical designs to treat children diagnosed with DIPG/DMG known as the DMG-ACT (DMG-Adaptive and Combination Therapies) clinical trial which is operated through Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC).

Under Dr. Nazarian’s leadership, this team has generated robust preliminary data that have supported initiation of two promising trials through PNOC using ONC206 (NCT04732065), and a highly innovative biology-informed DMG platform trial (NCT05009992), capable of adding in treatment arms based on new discoveries.

About The Center

Children’s National Hospital, based in Washington, D.C., was established in 1870 to help every child grow up stronger. Today, it is the No. 5 children’s hospital in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. Children’s National is transforming pediatric medicine for all children and is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care.

Children’s National is home to the Children’s National Research Institute, Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus, a first-of-its-kind pediatric hub dedicated to developing new and better ways to care for kids.

Our Center for Genetic Medicine Research’s mission is to understand health and disease as complex interactive processes influenced by genomics and other -omics, and to use this knowledge to precisely restore health and prevent illnesses in childhood and throughout the lifespan of individuals of diverse backgrounds. The Center focuses on common health problems in Washington, D.C., as well as serving as an international referral site for rare disorders. The Center houses a highly interdisciplinary faculty, with nearly half of the physician-scientists coming from clinical divisions in the hospital. The Center strives to provide faculty easy access to the latest technologies in genomics, microscopy, bioinformatics, pre-clinical drug trials and multi-site clinical trial networks.