Annie Huang

Staff Oncologist
Paediatric Brain Tumour Program
Division of Haematology/Oncology

Senior Scientist
Cell & Systems Biology

Principal Investigator
Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre

Dr. Huang is a paediatric neuro-oncologist and scientist with the Cell & Systems Biology Research Program, and the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at SickKids. She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and is a Professor of Paediatrics with Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

She received her PhD and MD at the University of Toronto where she trained in cancer genomics and biology, and clinical oncology. Prior to starting her independent laboratory in 2005, she pursued post-doctoral training with Drs Jeremy Squire and Linda Penn at the Ontario Research Institute.

Research

Dr. Huang started the Rare Brain Tumour Consortium to pursue her long-standing research and clinical interest in rare infant brain tumours due to the distinct clinical challenges of these patient population. In her laboratory she combines genomics, functional epigenomics and genome-wide screening tools to understand the pathogenesis of rare CNS embryonal tumours, including ATRTs (Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid tumours), and ETMRs (Embryonal Tumour with Multi-layered Rosettes) with the goal to improve treatment and patient survival. Many of the discoveries from the Huang lab has been applied to analyses and development of clinical trials for rare tumours through her leadership in the Children’s Oncology Group Trial Consortia. Due to her specific clinical and research interest/expertise, she also frequently advises on treatment of children across the world diagnosed with rare CNS tumours.

1. Johann PD, et al. Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumors Are Comprised of Three Epigenetic Subgroups with Distinct Enhancer Landscapes. Cancer Cell. 2016 Mar 14; 29(3):379-93.
2. Reddy A, et al. Efficacy of High-Dose Chemotherapy and Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiation for Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor: A Report from the Children's Oncology Group Trial ACNS0333. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2020 Feb 27
3. Li BK, et al. Pineoblastoma segregates into molecular sub-groups with distinct clinico-pathologic features: A Rare Brain Tumor Consortium registry study. Acta Neuropathologica. 2020 Feb;139(2):223-241.
4. Li H, et al. HERC3-mediated SMAD7 ubiquitination degradation promotes autophagy-induced EMT and chemoresistance in glioblastoma. Clinic Cancer Research. 2019 Jun 15;25(12):3602-3616
5. Sin-Chan P, et al. A C19MC-MYCN-LIN28A oncogenic circuit driven by hijacked super-enhancers represents a distinct therapeutic vulnerability in ETMRs. Cancer Cell. 2019 Jul 8;36(1):51-67.e7.