The U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a $601,250 Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 93.393 - Cancer Cause and Prevention Research) to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc. to conduct research on the mechanisms underlying oncogenesis driven by the ZFTA-RELA gene fusion and identify potential therapeutic targets. The key objectives of this 5-year project are to: 1) understand how ZFTA-RELA condensates regulate oncogenic gene expression and tumor development, 2) discover the structural basis of ZFTA zinc finger DNA binding and its role in tumorigenesis, and 3) interrogate ZFTA-RELA interacting proteins as cancer dependency proteins and therapeutic targets. The research aims to decipher the biophysical mechanisms of ZFTA-RELA condensate formation and the functional roles of its condensate interaction partners to potentially yield new therapeutic approaches for this aggressive pediatric brain tumor, ependymoma.