National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) has joined a coalition of nonprofits to fund $4 million in new grants to advance innovative therapeutic strategies for glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive and lethal primary brain tumor in adults. This effort is consistent with NBTS’s long-held belief in the power of collaboration—from our own internal initiatives, like the DNA Damage Response Consortium, to previous strategic partnerships, such as our participation in the Brain Tumor Funders Collaborative.
The initiative, led by The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research in partnership with The Sontag Foundation, grew out of a high-level scientific workshop convened to identify bold, underexplored therapeutic opportunities in GBM. The resulting awards will support several exciting research projects with the potential to advance novel treatment strategies for patients with GBM, including: exploring novel therapeutic vulnerabilities, immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment interactions, and precision targeting strategies — all areas that align with, and/or complement, NBTS’s traditional research priorities and represent a continuation of our historical support for high-impact GBM science.
Funded Projects
The largest award — a three-year, $3 million “Endeavor Award” — supports a multi-institutional team science project:
Aneuploidies as a Source of Therapeutic Targets in Glioblastoma
Rameen Beroukhim, MD, PhD; William Kaelin Jr., MD; and Keith Ligon, MD, PhD — Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Daniel Schramek, PhD — Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
Jason Moffat, PhD — The Hospital for Sick Children
Four additional “ASPIRE Awards” — $250,000 each for one year — support focused, high-impact projects:
Antisense Oligonucleotides (ASOs) Targeting the Long Noncoding RNA as Novel Immunotherapeutic Agents in Glioblastoma
E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD — Brigham and Women’s Hospital
This project will explore the use of antisense oligonucleotides to target long noncoding RNAs as a strategy to enhance anti-tumor immune responses in GBM.
Targeting Platelet–Immune Cell Interactions for Next-Generation Glioblastoma Therapies
Justin Lathia, PhD — Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Identifying Drivers and Therapeutic Targets in IDH-Mutant and IDH-Wildtype High-Grade Glioma
Daniel Schramek, PhD — Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
Daniel Wahl, MD, PhD — University of Michigan
Spatial Profiling of CAR-T Cell Interactions and Activation States in the Tumor Microenvironment of High-Grade Gliomas
Peter Sorger, PhD — Harvard Medical School
Christine Brown, PhD — City of Hope
By participating in this initiative alongside other respected organizations, NBTS is reinforcing our strategy to advance bold GBM science, accelerate progress through strategic partnerships, and align philanthropic dollars across organizations to maximize impact.
Other organizations participating in this collaborative effort were the Anne and Claude Berda Foundation, the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, and the Uncle Kory Foundation.
As we look ahead, NBTS will continue to identify opportunities where partnership can multiply impact — because philanthropic dollars achieve greater impact when we work together with like-minded organizations toward our shared mission.
