Our vision is: To find the cause of and a cure for brain tumours while improving the quality of life for those affected. Research is the key to achieving our vision.
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is happy to collaborate with organizations with common goals and direction to help support our mission. Below are some of the current and past projects we have partnered with other organizations to make greater impact. These partnerships and collaborations allow us to move research forward quicker and with a stronger voice allowing us to work together on common goals. Together we are stronger.
Nehalkumar Thakor, PhD at the University of LethbridgePartially supported by Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada
Project Title: “To Assess Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 5B as a Therapeutic Target in Glioblastoma”
Description of Project:
Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the deadliest cancers with a dismal prognosis and survival rate. Frontline therapeutic agents are failing in the clinic and there is an urgent need to develop novel therapeutic intervention strategies for the treatment of patients with GBM tumors. Under the stress conditions found within tumors, the normal (canonical) process in cells of translating genetic messages (mRNA) into protein is reduced to conserve cellular energy. At the same time, the cells begin the non-canonical process of translating a subset of mRNAs to different proteins so that the cell can cope with the stress condition. This non-canonical process contributes to the resistance of cancer cells against therapeutic agents. Proteins in cells known as eIFs have been shown to regulate the early steps of non-canonical translation of mRNA to protein. We have identified a protein, eIF5B, that facilitates the translation of anti-death proteins and allows GBM cells to survive during high-stress conditions that would normally cause cell death. We propose
to define the role of eIF5B in GBM cell survival, proliferation, and non-canonical translation using brain tumor-initiating cells from patients. These experiments will validate eIF5B as a therapeutic target for GBM. This proof-of-concept project will establish the preclinical rationale for targeting eIF5B for the therapeutic benefit of GBM patients.
The Defeating Embryonal Cancer in Young People Together (DECRYPT) Research Grant is intended to challenge the current childhood embryonal cancer landscape by providing funding for a research project that will address an unmet need for these pediatric brain cancers. The DECRYPT grant is designed to fund research that will ideally lead to a significant change in the understanding, diagnosis, and/or treatment of childhood embryonal brain tumours.
The DECRYPT Research Grant is funded by Kindred Foundation, Cancer Research Society (CRS), Phoebe Rose Rocks, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, The Miracle Marnie Foundation, Childhood Cancer Canada, and Tali’s Fund. This collaboration is built on the shared goal to make significant change for children with embryonal brain tumours by investing in clinical research.
The DECRYPT Research Grant provides a significant investment of $600,000 CAD for one 4-year research project. The awardee of the inaugural DECRYPT Grant is Dr. Annie Huang from the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and her cross-Canada team.
The DECRYPT grant was originated by Kindred Foundation and our Phoebe Rose Rocks Committee in 2022 and awarded in 2023.
2025 Update: The clinical trial is open at multiple hospitals, including The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), BC Children’s Hospital, Alberta Children’s Hospital, CHU Sainte-Justine, London Health Sciences, and more. Dr. Annie Huang was also able to leverage the funds provided through the DECRYPT grant to receive additional funding from the ACCESS consortium to expand the clinical trial to more centres across Canada.
For more information on DECRYPT, please see:
Since 2005, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada has partnered with the Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative to extend the impact of research dollars.
Four North American funding organizations make up the Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative as core members and other partners participate when aligned with their organizations. All partnered organizations are non-profit, philanthropic and advocacy organizations from the United States. By working together we can accelerate progress in brain tumor research.
The core members of the Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative are:
Lead Institution: Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Project Title: Global Alliance to Establish a CSF-based Liquid Biopsy Platform for Brain Tumors
Project Leader: Ching Lau, MD, PhD
Lead Institution: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Project Title: Maximizing Detection of Childhood Brain Tumors in Biofluids Project Leader: Paul Northcott, PhD
Project Leader: Paul Northcott, PhD
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Project Sponsor: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Project Title: Active vaccination and the timing of checkpoint blockade dictate effective immunotherapy for glioblastoma
Project Manager: Robert Prins
Project Sponsor: McGill University
Project Title: Harnessing the brain tumor immune-microenvironment to enhance therapeutic efficacy
Project Manager: Daniela Quail
Project Sponsor: UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Project Title: Interrogating anti-tumor T-cells To develop adoptive cell transfer (ACT) Immunotherapy for pediatric high-grade gliomas
Project Manager: Gary Kohanbash
Sponsoring Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Project Title: Three dimensional immuno-genomics approach to personalized neoantigen-based immunotherapy
Project Manager: Joseph Costello
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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in support of European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)
Project Managers: Michael Weller, M.D. and Co-PM: Patrick Yung Wen, M.D.
“Molecular genetic host-derived and clinical determinants of long-term survival in glioblastoma”
Year: 2014
Amount: $2,000,000 over 2 years
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Children’s Hospital Boston
Investigator: Edward R. Smith
Urinary Biomarkers for Non-invasive Assessment of Therapeutic Efficacy in Glioma
Emory University School of Medicine
Investigator: Erwin G. Van Meir
Development of Protein Arrays for the Detection of Biomarkers in the CSF of Brain Tumor Patients
Johns Hopkins University
Investigator: Jaishri O. Blakeley
Amide Proton Transfer MR Imaging to Assess Tumor Response in Patients with Gliomas
Johns Hopkins University
Investigator: Luis A. Diaz
Circulating Tumor DNA as a Dynamic Biomarker in Malignant Gliomas
Johns Hopkins University
Investigator: Alena Hoská
Non-invasive Assessment of Glutamate in Glioblastoma Multiforme: Effect of Treatment
Massachusetts General Hospital
Investigator: Bob S. Carter
Exosome Analysis: A Non-Invasive Approach to Monitor Treatment Responses in Glioma Patients
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Investigator: Andrew B. Lassman
Molecular Determinants of [18F]FACBC-PET Imaging in Brain Tumors
University of California (David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA)
Investigator: Whitney B. Pope
Combining Genomics with Physiologic Imaging Biomarkers to Predict and Follow Treatment Response in Glioma
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Investigator: Kenneth D. Aldape
A combined molecular and clinical predictor of progression vs. pseudoprogression in newly diagnosed GBM.
University of Washington
Investigator: Kristin R. Swanson
Patient-specific Metrics of Treatment Response
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Investigator: Kyle D. Weaver
Monitoring Response to Therapy in Malignant Glioma Patients Using Blood-Based Epigenomic and Proteomic Biomarkers
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Kennedy- Krieger Institut
Dr. John J. Laterra
Tumor Stem Cell-Based Drug Discovery for Adult and Pediatric Glioma
Pre-clinical models of malignant brain tumors remain important in the identification of anti-cancer compounds. Unfortunately, the cell culture and animal models currently used for drug discovery have deficiencies that limit their ability to predict therapeutic responses in patients. A potentially critical explanation for this deficiency is that past models inadequately address possibility that a small subpopulation of glioma cancer cells with stem cell-like properties (i.e. glioma cancer stem cells) may generate the bulk of cancer cells within each tumor. This emerging concept predicts that therapies will fail if they do not specifically target the cancer stem cells and stem cell-driven tumor recurrence. The hypothesis of this 3-year research program is that stem cell-like cancer cells in glioma are a necessary and specific primary target for therapeutic intervention. We propose to pursue this hypothesis, looking at both adult and pediatric gliomas, with a new collaborative network of scientists and clinicians from four academic institutions within the United States and Italy who are experts in the fields of basic stem cell biology, cancer biology, molecular genetics, neuropathology, neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, experimental therapeutics, and clinical trial design.
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Investigator: Dr. Paul Mischel
Molecularly Guided Clinical Trials for Glioma
Malignant glioma is a disease with great genetic complexity. The traditional research approach of analyzing individual genes or proteins in isolation has yielded few breakthroughs; a paradigm shift is needed. Diverse types of high dimensional molecular (and clinical) data must be integrated to identify effective combinations of therapeutic agents and novel drug targets. We hypothesize that a systems level integration will facilitate the development and testing of new glioma treatments. The recent finding of the critical role for molecular interactions in determining response to EGFR kinase inhibitors highlights this point. Efficient translation using dynamic models and the design of prospective “smart” clinical trials will require a new type of team. The assembled team, with complementary expertise, diverse perspectives, a range of clinical populations (both adult and pediatric gliomas) and a history of successful collaboration should facilitate the development of innovative new treatments for malignant glioma patients. The focus will be on using an integrated systems approach to accelerate discovery, biologic modeling, and clinical application of novel molecular therapeutic targets in malignant glioma.
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
Investigator: Dr. Minesh Mehta
Identifying and Overcoming Resistance Mechanisms in Glioblastomas: A Joint EORTC-RTOG Effort
Currently available treatments for glioblastoma can prolong survival in some patients, but are rarely curative. Fundamentally new approaches are required to uncover biological mechanisms of resistance from which novel therapeutic strategies can be developed. As glioblastomas are relatively uncommon tumors, there is only a limited ability of single institutions to conduct studies with adequate power to address these issues. Accordingly, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) have joined forces in initiating the largest clinical study to date for newly-diagnosed glioblastomas. The required submission of tissue specimens within this carefully managed clinical trial system will create unparalleled translational research resources with enormous potential to uncover mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in glioblastomas. The BTFC is supporting the research component, a valuable leveraging of the unprecedented clinical trial infrastructure. The working hypothesis of the team is that designing more effective therapeutic strategies for glioblastoma patients will be optimized via a pharmacogenomic/pharmacoproteomic approach. Mechanisms of resistance identified through molecular and genetic profiling of large numbers of prospectively-collected clinical specimens will be hopefully lead to the development of targeted therapy strategies to overcome observed mechanisms of glioma resistance.
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