Research grants and programs

The PBTF's research institute program concluded its eighth year of funding in 2010. Total PBTF Institute funding now exceeds $14 million. Overall, the foundation has funded more than 50 research institutions in the United States and other countries.

Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® Institute Program

PBTF Institute at Duke
Grant Award 2003-2010: $12 million
Director: Darell D. Bigner, M.D., Ph.D.
Hai Yan, M.D., Ph.D., Systematic Oncogenomic Profiling of Pediatric Astrocytoma
Yiping He, Ph.D., Identification of Medulloblastoma Antisense Transcripts as Potential Biomakers
Sally Kornbluth, Ph.D., Eliminating Brain Cancer Cells Through Apoptosome Activation
Wei Chen, Ph.D., Clinical Treatment of Pediatric Medulloblastoma Using Novel Small Molecule Inhibitors of Smoothed Activity: A Translational Approach
Hui-Wen Lo, Ph.D., Targeting STAT3 as a Novel Therapy for Pediatric Medulloblastomas
Robert Wechsler-Reya, Ph.D., Initiation and Propagation of Medulloblastoma
Oren Becher, M.D., Genetically Engineered Mouse Model of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: A Preclinical Tool to Test Efficacy of Novel Agents
John Sampson, M.D., Ph.D., Dendritic Cell Vaccines Targeting Medulloblastoma and Medulloblastoma Stem Cells
Michael Zalutsky, Ph.D., Targeted Radiotherapy of Medulloblastoma
Darell Bigner, M.D., Ph.D., and Chien-Tsun Kuan, Ph.D., Specific Antigen-Targeted Immunotherapy of Medulloblastoma
Roger McLendon, M.D., Biorepository Core
Darell Bigner, M.D., Ph.D., and Henry Friedman, M.D., Cell Lines and Xenograft Core
Darell Bigner, M.D., Ph.D., Administrative Core, Developmental Research Core and Career Development Program

PBTF Institute at the University of California, San Francisco
Grant Award 2005-2010: $1,300,000
Director: Mitchel S. Berger, M.D.
David Rowitch, M.D., Ph.D., and Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Ph.D., Central Nervous System Development and Brain Stem Glioma Tumorigenesis
William A. Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., MYCN and Medulloblastoma Tumorigenesis
Nalin Gupta, M.D., Ph.D., and C. David James, Ph.D., Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Pediatric Brain Tumors
Joanna Phillips, M.D, Ph.D., Core A – Animal Models and Pre-Clinical Therapeutics Core
C. David James, Ph.D., Core B – Tissue and Neuropathology Core
Mitchel S. Berger, M.D., Administrative and Statistical Core

PBTF Institute at the Hospital for Sick Children
Grant Award 2005-2010: $1,300,000
Director: James Rutka, M.D., Ph.D.
James Rutka, M.D., Ph.D., Michael D. Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., and Peter Dirk. M.D., Ph.D., The Role of Isochromosome 17Q in the Pathogenesis of Pediatric Brain Medulloblastoma

Research Grant Awards

University of California, San Francisco
Grant Award 2007-2010: $50,000
Fredrik Johansson Swartling, Ph.D., Characterizing and Treating Cancer Stem Cells Isolated from a MYCN Medulloblastoma Model

Hospital for Sick Children
Grant Award 2009-2010: $100,000
Uri Tabori, M.D., Principal Investigator, Predictors of Functional and Neuro-Cognitive Outcomes in Long-Term Survivors of Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas

Peter A. Steck Memorial Lecture and Young Investigator Award

Guest lecturer: Inder Verma, Ph.D., Professor and Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Science at the Salk Institute, discussed “Cancer: A Malady of Genes” at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in July 2010.
Young Investigator Award: The 2010 award went to Hongwu Zheng, Ph.D., formerly with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, now with Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory.

Epidemiology

Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States
Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium

2010 Meeting & Program Sponsorships

Platinum Sponsor, 16th Annual Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Conference
16th Annual SNO Neuro-Tumor Club Meeting
34th Annual Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers Conference
14th International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (ISPNO)
18th International Conference on Brain Tumor Research and Therapy