Researchers have discovered how acids on the surface of bacteria give these microscopic organisms their characteristic “rod” shape—by keeping an enzyme at bay that would otherwise turn the cylindrical cells into shape-shifting blobs.

New research from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is aimed at understanding and preventing relapse in pediatric brain cancers, particularly medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children. The work focuses on why some tumors return after treatment and how resistant cancer stem cells may drive that recurrence.

The research is led by pediatric researcher Jezabel Rodriguez-Blanco, Ph.D., whose lab studies the biological mechanisms behind relapse in hopes of identifying new therapeutic targets. The researchers are investigating how tumors evolve after treatment and why recurrent tumors often behave differently from the original disease, one reason current therapies frequently fail once the cancer returns.

The study underscores Hollings’ growing investment in pediatric cancer research and translational science, with the long-term goal of developing combination therapies that could stop resistant tumor cells before they spark recurrence. The work also reflects a broader push to move discoveries from the lab into treatments that improve outcomes for children facing aggressive brain cancers.