You can partner with us to advance this meaningful, impact-driven work.

Involving a research advocate in a research project has been shown to improve clinical practice. NBTS is frequently asked by government, industry, and academic groups to identify and coordinate individuals to serve as research advocates for initiatives such as review panels, trial design evaluations, educational programs, scientific conferences, and more.

As a result, NBTS launched the Brain Tumor Research Advocate program to train and match brain and spine tumor patients, survivors and care partners with neuro-oncology research projects to deepen the bench of people who could fill these requests.

Real-Time Research Review Sessions

NBTS connects researchers with advocates through one-hour, virtual research review sessions. During the Zoom sessions, researchers are able to present their research and have an open discussion to get a patient-focused perspective in real-time to help them prioritize research topics, questions, or strategy. 

At a Real-Time Research Review Session, NBTS will organize the call, ensure at least 5 research advocates are included, facilitate the discussion, and coordinate the agreements to ensure what is discussed remains confidential. The researcher will create a 15-minute presentation using a slide template following the provided guidelines and listen and respond to advocate feedback.

Apply for a Real-Time Research Review Session with our trained advocates who bring expertise that spans a variety of factors, including tumor type, age, role, and lived experience. Having feedback from a diverse group of patient partners is ideal for optimal community engagement.

Match with a Research Advocate

NBTS encourages advocates to be involved early and often, and we can connect researchers with advocates at any stage of the research process. Researchers can partner with one, or more, of our Brain Tumor Research Advocates who can provide input on an individual research project. We can work with you to match you with a trained research advocate that fits your needs! 

You can request to be matched with our research advocates who can provide input on:

• Study design
• Identifying gaps and setting research priorities
• Peer review
• Promoting studies, recruiting participants, or supporting enrollment 
• Program development, pilot testing, surveys, or grant submissions
• Sharing and promoting research results

Join us in making research more efficient and effective by ensuring that people with brain and spinal cord tumors and care partners are equal partners in research.