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Events and Collaborations

See all the ways that we are able to fund special projects and collaborations.

The Pam and Rolando Del Maestro Family Undergraduate Student Research Competition Awards

The Del Maestro's

In 2017, The Pam And Rolando Del Maestro Family Undergraduate Student Research Competition Awards – named for Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada’s co-founders – were established to promote scientific innovation among Canadian undergraduate students.

This undergraduate research competition is an opportunity to showcase your work to other scientists, researchers, and professionals attending the Research Symposium.

Students will have the opportunity to create a research proposal, practice presentation skills and receive constructive feedback from a panel that will include physicians and researchers.

Learn more

Launching DECRYPT

Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is happy to announce our partnership with Kindred Foundation, Cancer Research Society, Phoebe Rose Rocks Foundation, Miracle Marnie, Childhood Cancer Canada and Tali’s Fund. Together we have joined forces to support the Defeating Embryonal Cancer in Young People Together (DECRYPT) Research Grant, which will open in early 2023. This grant will provide $600,000 to one Canadian research project focused on childhood embryonal brain tumours.
 

Press Release Learn More

20th Biennial Canadian Neuro-Oncology Meeting

20th Biennial Canadian Neuro-Oncology Meeting

On behalf of the CNO Meeting Organizing Committee we are looking forward to seeing you in our Nation’s Capital for the 20th Biennial Canadian Neuro-Oncology Meeting. We are planning a robust conference agenda which will feature breaking advances in Neuro-Oncology research and Neurosurgical techniques.

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Research Symposium and Virtual Lab Tours - May 15, 2021

Our virtual lab tours give an exclusive look at the laboratories of change-makers in the pediatric brain tumour research field, including:

Dr. Sheila Singh Lab – McMaster University (Hamilton, ON)
Dr. Marshall Pitz Lab – CancerCare Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB)
Dr. Lisa Porter Lab – University of Windsor (Windsor, ON)

PRESENTERS:
Dr. Derek Tsang – “Re-irradiation for childhood brain tumours”
Dr. Vijay Ramaswamy – “What is ependymoma in 2021?”

Collaborative Grants

Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative

Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada partners with the Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative to extend the impact of research dollars.

Five North American funding organizations make up the Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative.  The organization includes Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada along with five other non-profit, philanthropic and advocacy organizations from the United States. By working together we can accelerate progress in brain tumor research. The groups have worked together to fund two previous initiatives (details below) and are now exploring a third joint project. When this is finalized, the projects details, and any applicable calls for applications will be posted here.

The members of the Brain Tumour Funders’ Collaborative are: 

  • American Brain Tumor Association
  • Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada
  • James S. McDonnell Foundation
  • Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
  • Sontag Foundation
  • Anonymous
The four projects granted funding in 2019 are:

In January 2019 the BTFC announced $3 million in grants to four multi-institutional teams of researchers and clinicians studying immunotherapy in primary brain tumours. Read the Press Release here.

The four funded projects will examine vaccination strategies, the tumour’s micro-environment, anti-tumour T-cells, and personalized immunotherapy approaches. They were selected during a multi-stage review process from more than 79 responses to the BTFC call for proposals.

The following institutions will be receiving $750,000 BTFC grants over the next three years:

Active vaccination and the timing of checkpoint blockade dictate effective immunotherapy for glioblastoma 
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Project Manager:  Robert Prins

Harnessing the brain tumour immune-microenvironment to enhance therapeutic efficacy
McGill University
Project Manager:  Daniela Quail

Interrogating anti-tumor T-cells To develop adoptive cell transfer (ACT) Immunotherapy for pediatric high-grade gliomas 
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Project Manager:  Gary Kohanbash

Three dimensional immuno-genomics approach to personalized neoantigen-based immunotherapy
University of California, San Francisco
Project Manager:  Joseph Costello