The Ross Lab has been awarded a very special grant by the Tough2gether foundation and DIPG/DMG Research Funding Alliance, a family of non-profits who are “are passionate about providing funds to develop an understanding of Diffuse Midline Gliomas…and the DIPG DMG National Brain Tumor Board.” This project will define key features of tumor associated macrophages, found in these brain tumors, that render them to be “pro-tumor” and will determine the efficacy of therapeutically targeting these characteristics. The Ross Lab is very appreciative of the donors and patients who are enabling us to perform these vital studies. This work will move us closer to finding the next treatment for DIPG/DMG and potentially other brain tumors as well. See the website for more details.

In collaboration with UVA experts and collaborators Natasha Sheybani and Stefanie Bailey, the Ross Lab was recently awarded a grant by the UVA BIG (Brain Immunology and Glia) Center for our team’s work on developing novel targeted cellular therapy against dysfunctional macrophages and microglia in neurodegenerative conditions. This work pioneers a transformative cellular therapy technique but with a twist. It is our mission to ensure this therapeutic approach is applicable to a variety of neurodegenerative conditions and we are very grateful for the BIG Center’s support!

The Ross Lab started off the new year (2026) with news that The Cure Starts Now foundation will fund our studies on immune suppressive macrophages in pediatric diffuse midline glioma. Specifically, the project is focused on a protein highly expressed by these cells in mice and human tumors, and aims to determine how this protein drives immune suppression and therapeutic resistance. These studies could lead to the discovery of a novel therapeutic target for DMG and pave the way for combinatorial treatment strategies. The Ross Lab is extremely grateful of the donors, patients, and families that have entrusted us to perform these studies.

In October 2025, the Ross lab, in collaboration with the Kelsey Voss lab at UVA, were awarded a UVA BRAIN Institute Transformative Neuroscience Pilot grant to study tumor associated macrophages and identify druggable targets in the context of pediatric high-grade glioma. Trainees are absolutely able to contribute to this exciting project!

The 2025 society for neuro-oncology annual meeting was held in Honolulu Hawaii where Dr. Ross attended and got caught up on all the latest and greatest science being done for brain tumors.

Are you a graduate student looking for your home lab? We are seeking highly motivated, hard-working, and ambitious students who are interested in brain tumor immunology. Primary projects will be focused on tumor associated macrophages and microglia, determining how their immune suppressive properties contribute to brain tumor progression. Students will be exposed to a variety of experimental methodology including immune competent mouse models, single cell sequencing, flow cytometry, and in vitro cell cultures among others. This is the lab for you if want close mentorship and want to be invested in! Reach out for more information. We look forward to working with you!

The Ross lab opened its doors in June (2025). We made our first hire, Ashlyn Cowan, who has been instrumental in getting everything up and running. All major equipment has arrived and we are gearing up to start experiments soon!