American Brain Tumor Association Awards Over $1 Million in New Grants to Advance Brain Cancer Research

The ABTA has invested more than $36 million in over 800 research projects, leading the charge in

advancing progress and fostering hope for life-changing treatments and care for brain tumor patients.

CHICAGO, Oct. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) is proud to announce its ongoing commitment to brain tumor research with the funding of 24 new research projects.

For more than 50 years, the ABTA has remained committed to funding brain tumor research, especially for early-stage investigators. This investment, which starts with the earliest phase of medical training, seeks to not only drive brain tumor research forward, but empower the next generation of physicians and scientists to propel the neuro-oncology field forward.
"Through the funding of brain tumor research, the ABTA empowers talented researchers to pursue challenging questions in neuro-oncology," says Ralph DeVitto, ABTA president and chief executive officer. "We are proud to continue our legacy of funding critical brain tumor research and bringing hope to patients."  

This year's slate of awarded grants includes research projects that span several areas of brain tumor research, including biomarkers, epigenetics, experimental therapeutics, immunotherapy, and invasion for adult and pediatric brain tumors. The ABTA extends its congratulations to the 2024 grant recipients listed below. To learn more about current ABTA grant recipients, visit abta.org/research/research-funding-impact-2.

Research Collaboration Grants are two-year, $200,000 grants awarded for multi-investigator multidisciplinary brain tumor collaborative research projects. Grant awardees include:  

• Jacques Lux, PhD–University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, with Co-PI Wen Jiang, MD, PhD–University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Pavithra Viswanath, PhD–University of California, San Francisco, with Co-PI, Peng Zhang, PhD–Northwestern University

Basic Research Fellowships are two-year, $100,000 mentored grants awarded to post-doctoral fellows to retain talented researchers in the neuro-oncology field. Fellowship awardees include:  

• Adam Grippin, MD, PhD–University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Mark Youngblood, MD, PhD–Northwestern University

Discovery Grants are one-year, $50,000 grants supporting innovative, bold, high-impact approaches with the potential to transform current diagnostic or treatment standards of care. Grant awardees include:

• Toshiro Hara, PhD–University of Michigan
• Tanner Johanns, MD, PhD–Washington University in St. Louis
• Julie Miller, MD, PhD–Massachusetts General Hospital
• Chrystian Junqueira Alves, PhD–Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Gilbert Rahme, PhD–State University of New York at Stony Brook
• David Raleigh, MD, PhD–University of California, San Francisco
• Artak Tovmasyan, PhD–Dignity Health/St. Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center
• Dionysios Watson, MD, PhD–Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/University of Miami
• Peng Zhang, PhD–Northwestern University

Medical Student Summer Fellowships are three-month, $3,000 grants awarded to medical students to conduct brain tumor research projects under the mentorship of neuro-oncology experts. Fellows include:  

• Lucy Chen, AB–Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Harrsha Congivaram, BS–Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Karenna Groff, MEng–New York University Grossman School of Medicine
• Joseph Inger, BS–Brown University
• Jill Jones, BS–Boston Children's Hospital
• Seth Meade, BSE–Cleveland Clinic
• Jonathon Mitchell, BS–Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami
• Megan Parker, BS–Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Jorge Salcedo, AB, AB–University of California, Los Angeles
• Ethan Schonfeld, MS–Stanford University
• Suchet Taori, BA–University of Pittsburgh

Awarding of these grants would not be possible without the incredible support of our donors and our partner organizations including the Joel A. Gingras Memorial Foundation, Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, BrainUp, Tap Cancer Out, and Gladiator Project. 

The ABTA will soon begin accepting applications for its 2025 Discovery Grants, Basic Research Fellowships, and Jack and Fay Netchin Medical Student Summer Fellowships. In addition, ABTA partnered grants, the CNS Metastasis Research Grant and Brain Tumor Funders' Collaborative grant, will begin accepting applications soon. For more information on grant opportunities and deadlines, visit abta.org/grants. 

About the ABTA 
Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association provides comprehensive resources to support the complex needs of brain tumor patients and caregivers, across all ages and tumor types, as well as the critical funding of research in the pursuit of breakthroughs in brain tumor diagnoses, treatments, and care. To learn more, visit abta.org or call 800-886-ABTA (2282). 

SOURCE American Brain Tumor Association