Strengthening Research, Advancing Therapy, and Improving Health Care

The brain tumor community is hard at work on several policy issues. As the Fiscal Year 2013 budget is being developed, we’re working to ensure that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest U.S. funder of brain tumor research, receives the funding it needs. In addition, we're following one of the only must-pass pieces of legislation for this year, the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), with provisions that will give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the ability to devote more resources to scientifically evaluating treatments aimed at life-threatening diseases. Finally, we expect a decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act any day now. When the announcement is made, we will let you know what it means for the brain tumor community. To learn more, read our latest Public Policy and Advocacy Update. While you’re there, join us by signing up to be an advocate!

Advocate of the Month

To honor the dedication of our volunteer advocates, we will select an advocate of the month and showcase their dedication to fighting brain tumors and to this community. This month, we honor BethAnn Telford, survivor, advocate and Race for Hope Team BT team captain. BethAnn takes her leadership further by advocating for and spreading the word about policy issues that are critical to the brain tumor community. Hear from BethAnn as she shares her experiences as an advocate in this video.

What is BethAnn tackling next? This year she hopes to win a spot in the Kona Ironman Triathlon. To win, BethAnn needs you to vote for her video! To vote visit Konainspired.com July 4-18, or click here to receive an alert from us when it's time to vote.

A Successful Spring Event Season

This past weekend, our spring event season came to a close with the New York Brain Tumor Walk, where 1,800 participants came together to raise over $446,150. And earlier in the month the Denver Brain Tumor Walk raised over $174,000.

We would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all of the participants and supporters of our spring Walks, Rides and Races. Funds raised through our events help drive strategic research to find a cure for brain tumors, and ensure the critical needs of the brain tumor community are met through public policy and patient information.

We would like to express a special thank you to our event title sponsors:

New York Brain Tumor Walk
YK Foundation

Race for Hope-DC
Cassidy Turley

And, to our top event sponsors:

Bay Area Brain Tumor Walk
Genentech

Delaware Brain Tumor Walk
Penn & Barclay's

Phoenix Brain Tumor Walk
SSBTR

Race for Hope-DC
Arnold & Porter, LLP
The Case Foundation
Children's National Medical Center
The Conley Family & HFF
Morgan Lewis

Complete lists of all our great event sponsors can be found on each event website. Visit braintumor.org/events.

Now Available: Dr. Thomas Deisboeck on Mathematical Modeling of Brain Tumor Biology

The final video from our Systems Biology Research Symposium video series highlights the mathematical modeling work of Dr. Thomas S. Deisboeck, Director of Complex Biosystems Modeling Laboratory at Harvard-MIT.

Dr. Deisboeck details his computational work conducted over the last ten years, shares the potential of these technical approaches to systems biology, and highlights how they support early stage scientific discoveries and predictive personalized medicine. View Dr. Deisboeck's video or our entire video series here.

Community Events Update

Catch The Brain Wave 2012
Rick Franzo's Catch The Brain Wave event, a day of family fun and brain tumor awareness, was a success again, raising $3,100 for brain tumor research. A survivor himself, Rick is passionate about finding a cure.

Your Event Could Be Next
Are you interested in having your own community event? Contact us at communityevents@braintumor.org. We are ready to help you get started!