Investigator, Asst Prof (M) NSI NSurg CTNS MGPO M, Mass General Research Institute

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery Harvard Medical School

brain tumor biomarkers; brain tumor derived vesicles; cell-cell communication; epitranscriptomes; exosomes; glioblastoma; glioma; immune cells programming; methylation; neoplasms; noncoding rnas; proto-oncogene proteins c-myc; retroelements; rna; rna binding proteins; rna modifications; rna precursors; rna sequencing; rna splicing; secretory vesicles; t cells

1. Biomarker Discovery and Profiling
We develop minimally invasive strategies to identify biomarkers that improve glioma diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment selection. By profiling extracellular vesicles (EVs), nucleic acids, and proteins from tumor tissue, cerebrospinal fluid, and plasma, we uncover molecular signatures linked to disease state and progression. Using long-read RNA sequencing, digital PCR, proteomics, and integrative bioinformatics, we aim to translate biomarker discovery into clinically actionable platforms.

2. RNA Biology and m6A Epitranscriptomic Profiling
Our team studies how RNA modifications, especially N6-methyladenosine (m6A), regulate RNA fate in gliomas. We apply direct RNA nanopore sequencing to map m6A across full-length isoforms and investigate how writers, erasers, and readers shape RNA splicing, stability, and translation. We also explore how m6A influences RNA sorting into EVs, linking epitranscriptomic regulation to tumor communication.

3. Glioma Tumor Biology and Intercellular Communication
We investigate how glioma cells exploit intercellular communication and epigenetic regulation to adapt and resist therapy. Our work focuses on tumor-derived EVs, which reprogram stromal, vascular, and immune cells, and on how RNA modifications influence oncogene programs, including c-Myc. By mapping these interactions, we uncover vulnerabilities that drive glioma progression.

4. Extracellular Vesicle Biology and Function
Extracellular vesicles are central to our work as mediators of communication and carriers of molecular cargo. We study how EV surface proteins dictate targeting and uptake, and how EVs transport RNAs, proteins, and metabolites that modulate angiogenesis, immune response, and resistance. These insights establish EVs as both biomarkers and functional effectors of glioma biology.

Leonora Balaj is Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Bridgeport in CT and her PhD in Medicine from the VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. During her graduate studies she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Breakefield at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the department of Neurology.