Researcher | Research Overview
Dr. Ullrich is a dedicated onco-neurologist with an active practice at both Children’s Hospital Boston and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, caring for children while they are on active therapy and also for many years after they complete treatment. She has completed several clinical studies evaluating risk factors for neurologic late effects of cancer and for the neuro-oncological aspects of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Currently, Dr. Ullrich is Principal Investigator for the first clinical trial through Children’s Oncology Group to attempt to remediate cognitive difficulties in children and adolescents treated for a primary brain tumor. She is also Principal Investigator of the multicenter Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium that has now opened 3 of 4 planned clinical trials as interventions for complications of NF1, including studies of plexiform neurofibromas, brain tumors and cognitive difficulties. In addition, Dr. Ullrich has helped to develop and is working to validate a novel outcome parameter that will be used to assess spatial learning in children with NF1 as part of the current cognitive intervention trial. Dr. Ullrich’s primary focus is on her research for the Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium at Children’s Hospital Boston, one of nine sites in the United States funded by the Department of Defense. The goal of the Consortium is to develop novel therapies for patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), and Dr. Ullrich serves as the Site PI for three clinical trials currently taking place. The first is a Phase II clinical trial of rapamycin for progressive plexiform neurofibromas. The second, Lovastatin for Learning Deficits in Children with NF1, is a randomized clinical trial of lovastatin to reverse attention and spatial working memory deficits in children with NF1. The third is a randomized Phase II clinical trial of RAD001 (Everolimus) to treat chemotherapy-refractory brain tumors in children with NF1. In addition to these projects, Dr. Ullrich is Co-Investigator for a Phase II trial of Lonafarnib, Pravastatin and zoledronic acid in progeria. This project is a clinical trial for children with Hutchinson Guilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) and is funded by the NIH. Dr. Ullrich is also the study chair for an upcoming clinical trial using modafinil to improve cognitive deficits in pediatric brain tumor survivors through the Children’s Oncology Group.
Researcher | Research Background
Dr. Ullrich received her MD from Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in pediatrics, as well as a residency in child neurology, at Children’s Hospital Boston. Her fellowships in neurology, neurologic neuro-oncology, and clinical investigation were completed at Children’s Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively. She has received a number of awards, including the Clinical Investigator Training Program Award from Harvard University/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Harvard Leadership Program for Physicians and Scientists award from Harvard Medical School, and the Friend of the Brain award from Children’s Hospital Boston/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Departments of Neurosurgery. She was nominated for a Bridging Boundaries Clinical Faculty Award through Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to recognize a clinician in the subspecialties who interacts with other disciplines. Dr. Ullrich is an active member of the Clinical Care Advisory Board of the Children’s Tumor Foundation and serves as co-Chair of the Clinical Research Award. She serves as Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group Central Nervous System Late Effects committee.