ABTA Seeks Novel Ideas to Award Research Discovery Grants

CHICAGO ? Researchers now have an opportunity to receive grant funds for proof of concept studies and other explorations that push the boundaries of traditional brain tumor diagnostic or treatment approaches. The American Brain Tumor Association is currently accepting letters of intent for its Discovery Grants.

“Our goal is to improve medical outcomes for the 600,000 Americans living with a brain tumor diagnosis,” said ABTA Research Director Deneen Hesser.

The Scientist recently applauded the Discovery Grant program, placing it with the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges and NIH New Innovator Awards as unique, high-impact, ‘high-risk’ research alternatives.

Concepts presented in Discovery Grant projects can involve any type of brain tumor, including primary, metastatic, adult and pediatric. One of four ABTA research funding programs, the Discovery Grant program welcomes ideas originating in non-biology fields such as mathematics, physics, and biophysics.

American Brain Tumor Association 2011 Discovery Grant Announcement

Letters of Intent (LOI) for American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) Discovery Grants are due October 3, 2011.

- ABTA Discovery Grants support high risk/high impact projects that have the potential to change current diagnostic or treatment paradigms for either adult or pediatric brain tumors.

- ABTA seeks proposals addressing all types of brain tumors, benign or malignant, primary or secondary.

- Investigators from sciences outside traditional tumor biology fields are encouraged to apply.

This program offers one-year grants not to exceed $50,000 each in direct costs.

For grant details and LOI instructions, visit the ABTA Funding Opportunities page at the ABTA website.

Questions can be directed to Alex Sierra, Research Project Assistant, at grants@abta.org.

LOIs must be submitted in PDF format to grants@abta.org.

About ABTA

Headquartered in Chicago, the American Brain Tumor Association was the first national organization committed to funding brain tumor research and providing compassionate outreach to patients and caregivers coping with a brain tumor diagnosis. For nearly 40 years, the association has funded researchers working toward breakthroughs in brain tumor diagnosis and treatment. Through its dedicated team of licensed healthcare professionals, the ABTA provides brain tumor information and education for patients, families and healthcare professionals. The American Brain Tumor Association is a federally registered 501(c)3 charity that consistently earns high marks from the nation’s charity ranking organizations. For more information, visit www.abta.org.

About Brain Tumors

Every day, 500 people are diagnosed with a brain tumor. About one-third of these tumors are primary tumors that originated in the brain; the remainder are metastatic tumors that began elsewhere, for example in the breast or lung, and spread to the brain. Metastatic brain tumors occur more often in adults, while affected children are more likely to have a primary tumor. In 2011 alone, approximately 4150 children younger than age 20 will be diagnosed with a primary brain tumor.

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