Grants. Although brain and spinal cord tumors are the second most common form of childhood cancer, the bulk of money for research is directed at adult brain tumors. The situation has worsened in recent years, as the budget for the National Institutes of Health has been steadily reduced. Recently, Making Headway embarked on a $580,000 program at the NYU Medical Center to fund research projects focusing on finding the cause of, and innovative cures for, pediatric brain tumors. Scientists from around the NYU Medical Center community were invited to submit proposals and after careful peer review five projects have been selected for funding.
Brain Tumor Bank. Making Headway funds a technician to be on hand during surgery, collecting pediatric and adult brain tumor tissue that is not needed for diagnostic purposes. The tissue is frozen using a liquid nitrogen process that preserves its basic properties and stored in a special -80° freezer purchased by Making Headway. It is then distributed free-of-charge to scientists around the world, making possible invaluable basic and applied research projects in brain tumor biology.
Long-Term Goals. A long-term goal and a key element of Making Headway's vision is to endow a Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Research Laboratory at New York University Medical Center. In addition, in order to ensure that the current high level of leadership and commitment within the NYU Medical Center's pediatric neuro-oncology program continues, Making Headway is in the process of endowing a Professorship in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology. This will enable more time to be devoted to clinical or basic research.
To find out more, please call Making Headway's office at (914) 238-8384 or e-mail us at info@makingheadway.org for more information.