Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumour in adults and remains highly resistant to current therapeutic strategies, including surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. A major limitation in preclinical GBM research is the widespread use of immunodeficient mouse models, which do not accurately represent tumour-immune interactions that influence treatment response. To address this gap, we propose using an immunocompetent GL261 murine model to evaluate the effects of nanoparticle-based drug formulations, enabling monitoring of GBM tumour progression and therapeutic response within a physiologically relevant immune environment.
This project aims to assess tumour progression and treatment response using a multimodal approach that integrates MRI-based volumetric analysis with histological characterisation following surgical resection and administration of novel nanoparticle-based therapeutic gels.
We hypothesise that combining MRI and histology will provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of treatment efficacy than either method alone, enabling early detection of treatment-associated changes in tumour structure and recurrence
The objectives of this project will be to quantify tumour progression using T1-weighted MRI with manual segmentation and to prepare and analyse brain tissue through paraffin embedding, 10µm microtomy, and H&E staining, assessing tumour morphology and treatment-related changes from digested histological slides. Additionally, this project will compare MRI and histology findings to evaluate their agreement, as well as identify any discrepancies arising from resection variability, tissue distortion or imaging limitations, thereby supporting multimodal assessment of tumour progression and treatment effects within an immunocompetent GL261 GBM model.
Collectively, this work will generate quantitative MRI-derived tumour volumes, high-resolution histological datasets and an integrated analysis linking imaging to tissue-level pathology, which will identify early indicators of therapeutic response. Ultimately, this research will contribute to the optimisation of multimodal assessment strategies in preclinical GBM research and inform the design of future therapeutic studies.