Dr. Keller is a board-certified pediatric oncologist and NIH R01-funded investigator specializing in the development of more effective, less toxic therapies for the childhood muscle cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, and the childhood brain tumor, medulloblastoma. His special interest is advanced disease that has spread beyond the initial location of the cancer. Dr. Keller is investigating whether the genes thought to be responsible for the initial tumors are also important when the disease progresses, thereby identifying targets for new medical therapies.

One would like to think that tangibly better treatments for rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and other childhood cancers can be found in a matter of years, instead of tens of years. Finding new treatments starts with research, perhaps even a new research approach to identifying effective new treatments. The Pediatric Preclinical Testing Initiative at the Pediatric Cancer Biology Program at the Oregon Health & Science University focuses on finding molecules in childhood cancers that can be directly turned off or on by drugs so that the tumor stops growing. Behind our novel approach is the use of genetically-engineered mice. Our Pediatric Preclinical Testing Initiative uses mice modified from before birth so that at a certain age, and in a certain tissue, the same mutations found in a child’s cancer are activated in the mouse. These special mouse models of childhood cancer can be used to test a treatment to see whether the tumor growth and spread (metastasis) can be reversed. The specific aspect of these mice having normal immune systems is a real plus, too, because white blood cells play an important role in how tumors evolve and respond to therapy.