American Brain Tumor Association

Patients are the core of the American Brain Tumor Association’s research funding program.
Each grant funded by the ABTA is selected because of the way it supports our mission of advancing the understanding and treatment of brain tumors with the goals of improving, extending and, ultimately, saving the lives of those impacted by a brain tumor diagnosis.

An independent, multi-level, external review process ensures that ABTA grants are awarded to the brightest and most forward thinking researchers. Our prestigious Scientific Advisory Council and grant reviewers are the leadership of the brain tumor community. Many were recipients of ABTA funding earlier in their careers.

Through the funding of early career scientists, the ABTA is seeding the field with talented young investigators who have the potential to change our understanding of the causes, effects, diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors. We support innovative discovery science that is developing new drugs, new imaging techniques, and advanced methods of diagnosing brain tumors. We collaborate with other research funders, both in and out of the brain tumor field, to expand the understanding of this disease while learning from other diseases. We support research that will improve the quality of life of brain tumor survivors and their caregivers.
The American Brain Tumor Association’s Research Funding Program:

Supports early career development through:

· BASIC RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
$100,000 two-year training awards for new and early career scientists wishing to learn brain tumor research skills.
Through these awards, the ABTA is seeding the field with new brain tumor researchers. An ABTA Fellowship is a highly regarded, and often the first, award of a new investigator’s career. To date, we have brought 250 researchers into this field via ABTA Fellowships. Many transitioned into leaders of brain tumor research laboratories and treatment programs, and now serve as mentors to new scientists entering the field.

MEDICAL STUDENT SUMMER FELLOWSHIPS
· $3,000 summer stipend grants which allow medical students to spend a summer in a brain tumor research laboratory.
These awards are one of the most exciting areas for the ABTA to fund as they are so meaningful to these enthusiastic students embarking on their careers. The experience makes this disease better understood as medical students visualize tumor cells while learning the scientific skills needed to one day solve the diseases.

Supports early career development through:
DISCOVERY GRANTS
· $50,000 one-year awards in support of new concepts with the potential to change the way brain tumors are diagnosed or treated.
Discovery Grants, while considered the most “high risk/high impact” of our funding areas, carry the highest opportunity for reward and innovation. Concepts supported through this grant must be capable of changing the way brain tumors are diagnosed or treated. Funding has been provided for the development of new drugs, new approaches to visualizing tumors, and advanced approaches to tumor detection.
Supports collaborative funding opportunities:
COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVES
Jointly sponsored feasibility and clinical research studies which increase the impact of our research funding in these areas. These grants provide support to projects more effectively performed across multiple organizations or funders.