Varun Venkataramani

Varun Venkataramani discovered that glioma cells form extensive interconnected networks through tumor microtubes connected by gap junctions containing connexin43, creating a multicellular communication network that promotes tumor resistance to therapy and enables collective invasion. His work showed that these tumor microtube networks distribute calcium signals and metabolites across the tumor, allowing glioma cells to survive cytotoxic insults by sharing resources. His identification of the molecular machinery governing tumor microtube formation has provided new therapeutic targets for disrupting the resilient glioma network.