Dr Sholler is a board-certified pediatric hematologist/oncologist who serves as the chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. She is also the director of pediatric oncology research and a professor of pediatrics and pharmacology at Penn State College of Medicine. 

As the founder and chair of the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium, Dr. Sholler leads a group of more than 55 hospitals that offer a worldwide network of childhood cancer clinical trials. Preclinical research conducted in her laboratory has led to the opening of more than 20 clinical trials focused on cancer stem cells and targeted therapies for children with cancer. Dr. Sholler has led research studying both Clinical Precision Medicine approaches to cancer and eflornithine (DFMO) for children with neuroblastoma to keep children in remission. Her work has contributed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of DFMO for high-risk neuroblastoma.

Dr Sholler is committed to developing novel therapies and to working closely with collaborating investigators to share and perform innovative laboratory research and to continue to open clinical trials across the nation. Their strong track record of working closely with esteemed investigators studying pediatric cancers with a strong focus on neuroblastoma, ATRT, and DIPG in this collaborative environment provides the constant availability of innovative perspectives that drives their research forward and ultimately makes a difference in the daily lives of children living with cancer.

I am a member of the multidisciplinary Brain Tumor Program in the Cancer Center. Our team includes specialists in Neuro-Oncology,  Neurology, Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology, and Neuropsychology and Nurse Practitioners. There is a broad range of expertise that The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia brings to treating its patients with brain tumors.

My clinical and research interests are focused on developing personalized and disease-targeted therapeutics for embryonal tumors of the nervous system including ATRT.  I am also interested in understanding the late effects of our therapies in long-term survivors of tumors, such as ATRT that primarily affect the developing brains of infants and very young children.

As part of our approach to identifying new treatments for children with brain tumors, we are members of the multi-institutional Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC), the Children's Oncology Group (COG) Phase 1 Consortium, and the home institution of the Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium (CBTTC). These groups are involved in collaborative pre-clinical and clinical efforts to bring new therapies for children with brain tumors.

There is a sense of urgency in our group — working collaboratively with laboratory scientists and drug development companies on accelerating the pace of discovering new treatments for children.

There is huge progress in getting promising drugs to children with cancer. Through our cooperative group consortia, the progress is more rapid than in past years, and Children's Hospital is a major part of the effort to help bring new agents to children with brain tumors.

Director, Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Visiting Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

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Dr. Broniscer joined the faculty as the Director of the Pediatric Neuro Oncology Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in August 2017. His clinical expertise is the treatment of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults with brain and spinal cord cancers. Once Dr. Broniscer completed his graduate and post-graduate training, he joined the faculty at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in July 2002. Dr. Broniscer worked at St. Jude as a full-time pediatric neuro-oncologist until July 2017.

Research Interests

Dr. Broniscer has a great interest in conducting research in different areas associated with brain and spinal cord cancers in children. He has conducted several single and multi-institutional Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in the treatment of children with brain and spinal cord tumors & is particularly interested in developing new treatments based on biological characteristics of these tumors.

Although Dr. Broniscer was focused in the development of innovative clinical trials for children with high-grade gliomas, diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors at St. Jude, he plans to continue these efforts for a broader range of brain and spinal cord tumors at the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Broniscer has great interest in conducting clinical and molecular studies to increase the understanding about rare and aggressive types of pediatric brain cancers.