Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD is a research scientist at The Morgan Adams Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Program, housed within Children’s Hospital Colorado, and an Associate Research Professor at CU Anschutz in the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Venkataraman's unwavering commitment to pediatric cancer research is truly inspiring. She specializes in therapeutic development for pediatric brain tumors, with a primary focus on DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), a uniformly fatal brain tumor. Her research aims to unravel the genetic underpinnings of DIPG and identify pathways driving tumor aggressiveness. She has identified novel immunotherapy targets in DIPG. To continue her work and give new hope to families affected by DIPG, she co-founded Vināśa Oncology.
Research
As a SPARK Fellow from 2023-2025, Dr. Venkataraman's project aims to address the high unmet needs in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (ATRT) which is a highly aggressive childhood brain tumor with a 5-year survival rate of 35%. Current treatments, including intensive chemotherapy, radiation, and stem cell transplants, result in significant toxicity and poor outcomes. The loss of the SMARCB1 gene, leading to epigenetic dysregulation, is a key feature of ATRT. Targeting SMARCB1 loss has been challenging, necessitating new therapies. ATRT cells uniquely express high levels of B7-H3 and EphA2 antigens. To avoid off-target toxicities, the team proposes developing CAR T cells that recognize both antigens using a bicistronic CAR construct with Boolean logic “AND” rules, ensuring specificity to ATRT cells while protecting normal tissues. Collaborators: Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD and Rajeev Vibhakar, MD, PhD, MPH/MSPH
As a 2027 fellow, she pursued "Breaking Barriers: Armored CAR T Therapy for Curative Treatment of Pediatric Posterior Fossa A Ependymoma," a dual-target armored CAR T engineered to overcome tumor heterogeneity and IL 6/CCL2 mediated immune suppression in one of the most challenging pediatric brain cancers.
