Research Program: Transplant Biology and Therapy
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology

weige007@umn.edu
612-626-5501 — office
Preferred method of contact: Through assistant Nancy Morgan, 612-625-2912

Dr. Weigel's clinical profile
(University of Minnesota Physicians Web site)

Dr. Brenda Weigel received her medical degree from MacMaster University in Hamilton Ontario after completing a Masters of Nutrition degree at the University of Toronto. She then went on to do a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Western Ontario. After completing her residency she came to the University of Minnesota to do a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant. During her 4 year fellowship, Dr. Weigel worked in the lab of Dr. Bruce Blazar developing a murine model of rhabdomyosarcoma. She currently is an assistant professor with a dual appointment at the University of Minnesota's Cancer Center and the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Weigel received a Young Investigator of the Year Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 1999 and also received a Young Investigator of the Year Award from the Children's Oncology Group in the years 2000 and 2001. She received a Translational Research Award from the Children's Oncology Group and was named the University Pediatric Foundations Scholar for 2002-2003. Dr. Weigel was named the Lehman Family/CCRF Chair in 2004. She is the principal investigator for the Phase I Program in Pediatric Oncology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Weigel was the national chair for a Phase I study investigating a new drug, 17-AAG and is also national chair for the Children's Oncology Study for patients with high-risk rhabdomyosarcoma.

Research Interests

Dr. Weigel's ongoing research focuses on new immunotherapy strategies for pediatric cancers. Her laboratory utilizes 2 models of common childhood cancers, namely rhabdomyosarcoma and AML. The model of rhabdomyosarcoma was established in Dr. Weigel's lab and has been used to develop pre-clinical data to support clinical trials of new agents for this disease. Dr. Weigel is focusing her research efforts on identifying promising new agents that may improve the treatment of childhood cancers. Using her laboratory models, these agents can be identified and screened, then translated into clinical trials for patients.

Selected Publications

Weigel BJ, Nath N, Taylor PA, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Chen W, Krieg AM, Brasel K, Blazar BR. Comparative analysis of murine marrow derived dendritic cells generated by FLT3L or GM-CSF/IL-4 and matured with immune stimulatory agents on the in vivo induction of anti-leukemia responses. Blood 100:4169-4176, 2002.

Harmala LAE, Inguilli EG, Curtsinger JM, Lucido MM, Schmidt CS, Weigel BJ, Blazar BR, Mescher MF, Pennell CA. The adjuvant effects of mycobacterium tuberculosis heat shock protein 70 result from the rapid and prolonged activation of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in vivo. J Immunol 169:5622-5629, 2002.

Weigel BJ, Rodeberg DA, Krieg AM, Blazar BR. CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides Potentiate the Anti-tumor Effects of Chemotherapy or Tumor Resection in an Orthotopic Murine Model of Rhabdomyosarcoma. Clin Cancer Research 9:3105-3114, 2003.

Nagarajan R, Weigel BJ, Thompson RC, Perentesis JP. Osteosarcoma in the first decade of life. Med Pediatr Oncol 41:480-3, 2003.

Sauer MG, Ericson ME, Weigel BJ, Herron MJ, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Kren BT, Levine BL, Serody JS, June CH, Taylor PA, Blazar BR. A novel system for simultaneous in vivo tracking and biological assessment of leukemia cells and ex vivo generated leukemia-reactive cytoxic T cells (CTLs) Cancer Res. 2004 64: 3914-3921.