The Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure Award $350,000 to Florida-Based Researchers
The Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research (FCBTR), in partnership with Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), awarded $350,000 to support brain cancer research at three leading Florida institutions: University of Florida, The Scripps Research Institute and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. The awards support studies with a clear development path and potential to provide meaningful improvements in treatment outcomes for patients in the near future.
The awards fund research in areas on the cutting edge of scientific inquiry, including development of innovative gene, virus, nanoparticle, and immunity-based therapies. The 4 award recipients, in alphabetical order, are:
– Ana Tari Ashizawa, Ph.D., University of Florida
– Joanne R. Doherty, Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute
– Catherine Flores, Ph.D., University of Florida
– Peter A. Forsyth, M.D., H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
This year, the FCBTR/ABC2 Grants Program received a record number of applications. Twenty-three applications were received from researchers at six centers, including Mayo Clinic, Moffitt, Scripps, University of Florida, University of Miami, and University of West Florida.
“The Florida legislature is to be congratulated, again, on establishing a program, the Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research, which continues to bring the world’s best brain tumor scientists to our state,” said Dr. William Friedman, Chairman of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida. “It has been an honor to collaborate with ABC2 on this important scientific endeavor for Florida.”
“We’re honored to partner with FCBTR to build a world-class brain cancer research network in Florida,” said Max Wallace, CEO of Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. “Thanks to the fundraising support from patients, families and loved ones participating in ABC2’s Florida Brain Cancer 5k, we’re able to commit significant funding directly into research that holds the potential to hasten the discovery of a cure.”
Since 2006, the FCBTR at the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida has worked with hospitals statewide to collect tissue and disseminate data on brain tumors, creating a powerful tool to facilitate clinical trials, funding opportunities and research collaborations. In addition to providing brain tumor tissue for research to Florida’s scientists, FCBTR participated in The Cancer Genome Atlas, the research program that has helped set the standards for characterizing the genomic underpinnings of dozens of cancers on a large scale. Since its founding in 2001, ABC2 has fueled advancement in the field by funding outstanding and novel translational research to world-renowned researchers and creating novel collaborations with the medical community and academia, industry and government. Together, since 2010, FCBTR and ABC2 have together funded more than $925,000 in Florida-based brain tumor research.
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About The Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research
The Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research is a collaborative effort and its Scientific Advisory Council includes top researchers from H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Mayo Clinic, University of Florida, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Scripps Research Institute, UFHealth Cancer Center – Orlando Health, University of Miami and a representative of neurosurgeons in private practice. FCBTR has sponsored statewide Brain Tumor Biomedical Technology Summits to encourage collaboration.
To learn more, please visit http://fcbtr.ufl.edu/
About Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure
Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure is a venture philanthropy 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that drives cutting-edge research and treatments for brain tumors. Through strategic partnerships with medical research centers, early-stage biotechnology companies and large multi-national pharmaceutical companies ABC2 has awarded more than $20 million in brain tumor research funding to highly qualified investigators and physician-scientists from 42 institutions and companies. The organization works to raise awareness about brain cancer and promotes advancements in critical scientific research through research grants and partnerships.