PBTF Names Early Career Development Grant Awardees

Asheville, NC, March 05, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation has awarded its first Early Career Development grants to three up-and-coming pediatric brain tumor researchers studying medulloblastoma and ependymoma.

These awards support talented pediatric brain tumor researchers who are early in their career. The recipients are:

• Pratiti Bandopadhayay, MBBS, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Project: Resistance to BET-bromodomain inhibitors in MYC-amplified medulloblastoma
• Mark Remke, MD, PhD, Heinrich-Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
Project: Unraveling medulloblastoma biology by proteogenomics
• Kyle Walsh, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
Project: Genetic susceptibility to ependymoma and interaction with perinatal risk factors

Each award is $300,000 over three years. The expectation is that this funding will facilitate grantees’ transition to becoming fully independent investigators.

“The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation wants to engage young researchers and encourage them to pursue a career in this field,” said Joanne Salcido, vice president of research and family support. “We were delighted to receive so many highly qualified applications. The promising projects we awarded will make a difference to the future of childhood brain tumor research.”

Project summaries
Resistance to BET-bromodomain inhibitors in MYC-amplified medulloblastoma
The goals of the project are to characterize the resistance mechanisms to BET-bromodomain inhibition in MYC-amplified medulloblastoma. The hope is the results will guide development of therapeutic strategies, including use of combination therapies, to improve the efficacy of BET-bromodomain inhibition for the children with MYC-amplified medulloblastoma.

Unraveling medulloblastoma biology by proteogenomics
This project will compare cancer cells and normal cells using tools designed to analyze DNA, RNA and proteins of medulloblastoma, the most common brain tumor in children. The data will then be integrated in the hope that the results will help to inform clinicians about novel treatment strategies and to treat patients according to the actual aggressiveness of their disease.

Genetic susceptibility to ependymoma and interaction with perinatal risk factors
This study will compare the genomes of approximately 500 children with ependymoma to the genomes of 5,000 cancer-free children to identify genetic risk factors underlying this disease. It will also investigate interactions between genetic factors and potential perinatal risk factors. An enhanced understanding of these factors may change research models and encourage new studies.

About The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation is the world's largest nonprofit funder of research into one of the deadliest forms of childhood cancer. Our programs also include free educational resources, college scholarships for brain tumor survivors and mission-focused events such as Ride for Kids and Starry Night. More than 28,000 children and teens in the United States are living with the diagnosis of a brain tumor, and nearly 13 more cases are identified each day. To help us cure the kids, call 800-253-6530 or go to www.curethekids.org.