Research & Grant Funding
2024
Neonatal Ependymoma Injection Pilot Experiment @ Children’s National Hospital
Under the leadership of Dr. Brian Rood at Children’s National Hospital, this project aims to create better pre-clinical models for studying ependymoma. The approach involves using mice with fully functioning immune systems to develop models. By injecting tumor cells into neonatal mice, researchers hypothesize that the cells will grow without rejection, allowing for a more accurate study of tumor-immune system interactions. In honor of LBF Hero Cameron.
Grant Amount: $135,000
Advancing Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Through Comprehensive Data Integration and AI @ Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN)
A 2-year grant to CBTN includes a focus on data harmonization and optimization, AI pipeline development and refinement, and project management.
Grant Amount: $500,000
Expansion of CBTN Organoid Program
LBF’s investment will help accelerate organoid development, enhance molecular characterization, and establish real-time drug testing platforms. Organoids offer a novel, safe, and groundbreaking approach to understanding the way a child’s unique cancer cells respond to targeted drugs. In collaboration with leading researchers at Michigan Medicine, UCSF, and CHOP, this initiative is pioneering the use of 3D tumor organoids - patient-specific "avatars" - that more accurately replicate tumor behavior and treatment responses. By scaling organoid research across multiple sites, researchers aim to improve drug testing capabilities, identify new therapeutic targets, and create a more precise framework for developing personalized treatments.
Grant Amount: $75,000
Revolutionizing Ependymoma Treatment with CAR T-Cells and Focused Ultrasound
Researcher Dr. Dalia Haydar and her team at Children’s National Hospital are combining Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy—an immunotherapy that harnesses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer—with low-frequency focused ultrasound (LF-FUS). This novel combination aims to overcome key challenges, including the tumor’s ability to suppress immune responses and the blood-brain barrier, which often prevents treatments from reaching the tumor.
By optimizing the combination of CAR T-cells and LF-FUS in advanced preclinical models, researchers are laying the foundation for safer, more effective therapies that could be translated into clinical trials that could help children with ependymoma. Ultimately, the findings may also have broader implications for treating other pediatric brain cancers. In honor of LBF Hero Cameron.
Grant Amount: $179,000
LBF Helps to Fund PNOC027 Trial for Ependymoma
When the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium Foundation (PNOC) needed additional funding in order to get the clinical trial PNOC027 over the finish line, LBF jumped in to fund the remaining portion needed to support the expansion of PNOC027 into ependymoma. This trial, initially focusing on medulloblastoma, uses real-time drug screening and genomic testing to develop customized treatment plans for children and young adults with relapsed ependymoma. By testing each patient's tumor against hundreds of drugs, the trial aims to identify the most effective and least toxic treatment strategies, setting a new standard in targeted cancer care. In honor of LBF Hero Cameron Corno.
2023
Liquid Biopsy Fund @ Children’s National Hospital
This 3-year grant supports research to advance the understanding of liquid biopsy as a platform to transform diagnostic capabilities and care for children with brain tumors. The goal is to develop tests that can be used to measure extremely small amounts of tumor in the brain in order to better guide treatment intensity and duration as well as to detect early disease recurrences.
Grant Amount: $300,000
Translational Imaging Acquisition for Medulloblastoma
This grant supports the CBTN’s efforts to focus on pairing existing medulloblastoma imaging with clinical records, leading to a significant increase in the collection of files available to researchers globally. In honor of LBF Hero Kasey Zachmann.
Grant Amount: $40,000
Advancing Preclinical Research for Diffuse Hemispheric Glioma (DHG)
In 2023, DHG was discovered as a new subtype of high-grade glioma. This grant supports the development and research of several preclinical models in the lab at the Children’s Brain Tumor Network using DHG cell lines. In honor of LBF Hero Max Pound.
Grant Amount: $50,000
Translation of Clinical Trial Documents for CBTN and PNOC
LBF funded the translation of consent forms and clinical documents for patients enrolled in a clinical trial. In honor of LBF Hero Maddie Highfill.
Grant Amount: $10,000
2022
DMG/DIPG Research Lab Manager @ Children’s National Hospital
LBF made a 3-year grant to the DMG/DIPG Nazarian Research Laboratory at Children’s National Hospital. The funding supported the infrastructure for administration which allowed researchers to focus entirely on science and dedicate their time to finding and sharing breakthroughs for children affected by DMG/DIPG. This investment directly contributed to $8 million in additional funding for the Nazarian lab and the opening of three new clinical trials for childhood brain cancer.
Grant Amount: $460,000
2021
Project Accelerate @ Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN)
LBF’s 3 year grant played a critical role in accelerating the pace of translational research for children with brain tumors. Project Accelerate provides the opportunity to unlock valuable molecular information in patient samples and to share this data with researchers worldwide. Highlights of Project Accelerate:
- 7,000+ Molecularly Characterized samples from participants and parents
- 23,000+ Imaging Subjects
- 400+ total research projects
- 120+ total publications since the start of Project Accelerate
- Generating Crucial Data for AI
- Integration of clinical, imaging and molecular data.
Grant Amount: $675,000
2020
Discovering Unique Tumor Protein in Cerebrospinal Fluid @ Children’s National Hospital
This funding supported pioneering work to make use of protein fragments, called tumor specific peptides, as biomarkers to detect recurrence in children with brain tumors. This method of collection will also serve as a game-changing tool to customize therapy for an individual child’s needs.
Grant Amount: $143,000
Clinical Trial Testing Combination Therapy in Children with Refractory Gliomas @ Children’s National Medical Center
The Lilabean Foundation's support of this Phase I trial through the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC) is helping Children's National Hospital and partner institutions find novel treatments for both low and high grade gliomas. Dr. Lindsay Kilburn, Director of Experimental Therapeutics at Children's National's Brain Tumor Institute, is the Chair of this national trial which combines two drugs, trametinib and everolimus, to treat resistant refractory gliomas. Each drug has shown promise independently as therapies that stop tumor growth. The hope is that their pairing will provide kids with a more effective treatment plan and prevent tumors from developing drug resistance.
Grant Amount: $225,000
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