21/08/2025
🌼 This Daffodil Day, we are spotlighting the incredible work of Dr Maria Tsoli, Senior Scientist at the Children’s Cancer Institute and Conjoint Senior Lecturer at UNSW, whose research is driving change for children diagnosed with some of the most aggressive brain tumours.
Paediatric brain tumours, like diffuse midline glioma (DMG) and high-grade gliomas, remain among the deadliest childhood cancers. With limited treatment options and a poor prognosis, research in this space is urgently needed. Dr Tsoli’s work tackles key barriers such as the blood–brain barrier, develops clinically relevant models, and identifies new therapeutic vulnerabilities.
Dr Tsoli aims to translate these innovations into durable treatments that offer long-term remission for cancers that are currently incurable.
Early in Dr Tsoli’s career, a lack of preclinical models for DMG posed a major hurdle. But thanks to the extraordinary generosity of families who donated their children’s autopsy samples and the support of philanthropic funding, critical progress was made, showing that perseverance and community support can transform even the toughest challenges into hope.
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