The development of the mammalian brain is a highly regulated process involving  both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous decisions that determine cell fate, proliferation, migration, and death.  The genes that govern these critical decisions are often mutated in human cancers, and their de-regulated function in the central nervous system (CNS) leads to the development of brain tumors.

Using the neurofibromatosis cancer predisposition syndromes as model genetic systems to understand normal growth and differentiation in the normal brain, we envision brain tumors are complex interconnected ecosystems composed of numerous distinct cell types each with unique roles in tumor formation and growth.