OUR PARTNERS.
Money for research is critical in finding new and effective forms of treatment for brain cancer. Therefore, we have partnered with these prestigious cancer centers who are making great strides in finding and developing treatments through their innovative research. Through your enduring support, we are able to donate 100% of the proceeds to help them continue this very important Glioblastoma brain cancer research.
Harold C. Simmons has been designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a comprehensive center, an elite distinction held by only the top-tier cancer centers nationwide. The Simmons Cancer Center is the only cancer center in North Texas to attain this prestigious status, which is bestowed by the NCI in recognition of innovative research and excellence in patient care.
Working with the Director of Development for Cancer Research at UTSW, we have decided to use the money from the Texas Ales for Ashley to support the work of Dr Maher. She is doing some great research using spectroscopy to determine if a certain gene is present in the tumor. With this information, new therapies and treatment options are available to the patient. We will make a three year commitment to fund this important research in North Texas.
Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center is designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a comprehensive center, an elite distinction held by only the top-tier cancer centers nationwide. The Lurie Cancer Center is the only institution in Chicago that possesses an NCI-supported Brain SPORE.
Funds will support the work of Dr. Derek Wainwright, Ph.D. He is Principal Investigator of a brain cancer immunology and immunotherapy laboratory at Northwestern University, has previously conducted research that has been translated into multiple clinical trials for glioblastoma patients, and is currently expanding his research objectives into understanding how the molecular mechanisms of high distress levels, advanced aging, and immunosuppressive IDO1, suppress immunotherapeutic efficacy in patients diagnosed with malignant glioma.
With this new information, innovative and exciting therapeutic treatment options are rapidly becoming available to improve the survival of patients with brain cancer.
Read more about his work here.
National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) unrelentingly invests in, mobilizes, and unites the brain tumor community to discover a cure, deliver effective treatments, and advocate for patients and caregivers.
Building on over 30 years of experience, we are the largest patient advocacy organization in the United States committed to curing brain tumors and improving the lives of patients and families. With thousands beside us, our collective voices and actions are a powerful force for progress.
Our donors, volunteers, advocates, and partners fuel our work and accelerate breakthroughs in brain tumor research. We will not stop until we defeat brain tumors — once and for all.
The GBM Foundation supports the GBM Agile research initiative.
Winship is one of 71 National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer research centers in the United States. For 80 years, Winship has coordinated and directed cancer research, education and care throughout Emory University and its health care system, Emory Healthcare. Winship is ranked first in Georgia for cancer care and is top-ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report.
Funds will support the work of Dr. Edjah Nduom at Emory Brain Health.
Altering Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) Expression: Edjah Nduom
While repurposing immune therapy and other drugs has proven to be effective in some cancers, this approach has not proven viable for treating glioblastoma and pediatric cancers including medulloblastoma and gliomas. What if there was a way to alter the immune cells in our brain to make them more receptive to immune therapy? Dr. Nduom believes that the answer lies in developing a novel class of drugs to target Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA).
Genetic sequencing has resulted in discoveries about DNA and the messenger RNA responsible for encoding proteins, but there is a much larger part of the human genome uninvolved in coding genes. The term non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a commonly employed term for RNA that does not encode a protein, but this does not mean that such RNAs do not contain information nor have function. Although it has been generally assumed that most genetic information is transacted by proteins, recent evidence suggests that the majority of the genome is in fact transcribed into ncRNAs, many of which are alternatively spliced and/or processed into smaller products.
Dr. Nduom is now interested in exploring tens of thousands of longer transcripts called LncRNAs, which is largely uncharted territory for brain tumor research, and developing a new class of drugs to alter them. As he has been characterizing these molecules, Dr. Nduom’s team has data to suggest that the LncRNAs are different in brain tumor patients than in healthy volunteers. Dr. Nduom is finding that LncRNAs are very specific (they might be upregulated in immune cells but not in brain cells or muscle cells, for example), and they have different functions in different types of cells, as well. Moreover, LncRNAs perform their functions despite being present in only a few transcripts per cell. That is to say, just the slightest presence of LncRNA can change the entire function of a cell. Similarly, it does not take a lot to knock down a LncRNA that may be causing problems. And, because they are easy to knock down, LncRNAs might be ideal therapeutic targets.
In partnership with Hui Mao, PhD, a nanoparticle expert at Emory, Dr. Nduom wishes to undertake a pilot study to develop a whole new class of therapeutics to target the LncRNAs and make immune therapy effective in glioblastoma. The research team hopes to design nanoparticles small enough to cross the blood brain barrier to target the aberrant LncRNAs in immune cells and macrophages most frequently immune suppressed in glioblastoma. Dr. Nduom’s team believes this approach could render immune therapy effective in glioblastoma for the first time.
