UCSF Neurological Surgery faculty since 2003
 
Read about Dr. Lal's current research
 
The primary objective of Dr. Lal's research laboratory is to understand the genetic changes underlying meningioma tumorigenesis, with the eventual goal of improved therapy. She and her colleagues are particularly interested in the genes and genetic pathways that are altered and contribute to the malignant progression of meningiomas and meningioma recurrences.
 
Meningiomas are the second most common primary brain tumor. Current treatment options, which are restricted to surgical resection and radiation therapy, are often inadequate because some meningiomas are not amenable to surgery and others recur even after surgery and radiation treatment. Also, existing criteria for the classification and grading of meningiomas do not adequately predict the rates of tumor growth or the likelihood of tumor recurrence. There is a need to develop novel therapies based on the unique biological properties of meningiomas and to develop a molecular classification system that could be of better prognostic value, so that treatment strategies can be directed towards those in need while patients with slower growing tumors that are unlikely to recur are spared from unnecessary treatment.
 
Education, Training, and Previous Positions
 
1989: BS, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
1991: MS, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
1997: PhD, University of Georgia
1998-2003: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center
 
Selected Professional Memberships and Appointments
 
American Association of Cancer Research
The Society for Neuro-Oncology
 
Contact
 
Anita Lal PhD
University of California, San Francisco
513 Parnassus Avenue, HSE 722
Box 0520
San Francisco, CA 94143
Phone: (415) 476-6662
 
Selected Recent Publications
 
Baia GS, Dinca EB, Ozawa T, Kimura ET, McDermott MW, James CD, Vandenberg SR, Lal A. An Orthotopic Skull Base Model of Malignant Meningioma. Brain Pathol 2007; [Epub ahead of print].
 
Smith JS, Lal A, Harmon-Smith M, Bollen AW, McDermott MW. Association between absence of epidermal growth factor receptor immunoreactivity and poor prognosis in patients with atypical meningioma. J Neurosurg 2007;106(6):1034-40.
 
Trembath DG, Lal A, Kroll DJ, Oberlies NH, Riggins GJ. A novel small molecule that selectively inhibits glioblastoma cells expressing EGFRvIII. Mol Cancer 2007;6:30.
 
Yoo H, Baia GS, Smith JS, McDermott MW, Bollen AW, Vandenberg SR, Lamborn KR, Lal A. Expression of the hypoxia marker carbonic anhydrase 9 is associated with anaplastic phenotypes in meningiomas. Clin Cancer Res 2007;13(1):68-75.
 
Baia GS, Slocum AL, Hyer JD, Misra A, Sehati N, VandenBerg SR, Feuerstein BG, Deen DF, McDermott MW, Lal A. A genetic strategy to overcome the senescence of primary meningioma cell cultures. J Neurooncol 2006;78(2):113-21.
 
Cuevas IC, Slocum AL, Jun P, Costello JF, Bollen AW, Riggins GJ, McDermott MW, Lal A. Meningioma transcript profiles reveal deregulated Notch signaling pathway. Cancer Res 2005;65(12):5070-5.
 
Lu J, Lal A, Merriman B, Nelson S, Riggins G. A comparison of gene expression profiles produced by SAGE, long SAGE, and oligonucleotide chips. Genomics 2004;84(4):631-6.
 
Blackwell KL, Dewhirst MW, Liotcheva V, Snyder S, Broadwater G, Bentley R, Lal A, Riggins G, Anderson S, Vredenburgh J, Proia A, Harris LN. HER-2 gene amplification correlates with higher levels of angiogenesis and lower levels of hypoxia in primary breast tumors. Clin Cancer Res 2004;10(12 Pt 1):4083-8.