Research Funding & Impact
The ABTA has contributed over $38 million to brain tumor research since we began funding research in 1974.
About the ABTA Research Program Funding & Impact
Guided by our mission, and advised by a multidisciplinary team of experts, the ABTA is dedicated to funding research that has the potential to change the lives of people affected by brain tumors. We also aim to “seed the field” with promising up-and-coming researchers in the brain tumor space.
ABTA Research Program FAQs
- We receive applications through an open call process to ensure we get a wide variety of research projects, on all brain tumor types, from all over the world.
- Applications are reviewed by experts in the field and by brain tumor patient advocates, who weigh in on the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed research and consider the potential impact on brain tumor patients.
- Based on the feedback from expert reviewers, we identify the top applications. We fund as many of them as possible within our budget.
- The ABTA Research Programs Department manages the oversight process of ABTA Grants.
- ABTA uses competitive peer review to determine which grants receive funding, a similar system used by federal funding agencies.
- Patient advocates are also included on our review panels to ensure that patient outcomes remain a central focus in every research decision we make.
- Once grants are awarded, the Research Department monitors project progress through scientific and financial reports submitted by the grantees. Through this process, we ensure alignment to the program requirements and compliance with ABTA policies and procedures. We also continue to monitor research outcomes after the grants end, to track the longer-term impacts of the funding on advancing the field of brain tumor research.
- The ABTA continually invests over $1 million annually in brain tumor research. This funding primarily goes directly to research projects through:
- Our awarded grants: Grants we award through partnerships with other non-profit funding organizations
- Grants we award in partnership with other non-profit organizations like the Brain Tumor Funders’ Collaborative and the Metastatic Brain Tumor Collaborative
Our support of the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS)
- In addition to grant funding, the ABTA supports conferences and travel awards that bring researchers together to learn from each other, share ideas, collaborate and accelerate progress in the field.
- We receive applications through an open call process that allows us to select the best, most meritorious science.
- We fund research globally because great ideas to stop brain tumors can come from anywhere.
- We work with experts in the field who volunteer their time to review the applications, a process called peer review that is modeled after the rigorous process used by federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health. Peer review helps us to know which projects are sound, innovative and have the greatest potential to impact brain tumor care.
- The research we fund can be focused on all brain tumor types, including any patient age group, primary or metastatic cancers, as well as malignant or benign tumors.
- We don’t focus on funding particular brain tumor populations because we serve patients with all kinds of brain tumors. Improvements in diagnosis and treatment are needed throughout the brain tumor population.
- Our funding is primarily focused on researchers in the earlier stages of their careers because we want to seed the neuro-oncology field with new talent and encourage them to stay within the field, so that they can continue to bring fresh ideas to challenges in brain tumor research and care.
- IDH mutations, which boost tumor growth, are mutated in several types of brain tumors. These mutations were discovered through an ABTA-supported research grant in 2009. The discovery of IDH mutations led to the development of Vorasidenib, a drug that targets IDH mutations. This drug was approved by the FDA in August 2024 and has led to significant prolongation of progression-free survival, a measure of how long a patient’s cancer does not grow or spread after starting a treatment.
- The ABTA supports a collaborative network of 86 funded researchers who are leading advances in brain tumor science. This group convenes annually to share progress, tackle challenges, and drive innovation across the brain tumor research community. ABTA-funded researchers have published over 90 original studies, driving meaningful advances in the field of brain tumor research.
- In research funding, direct and indirect costs are different categories designated to distribute expenses associated with conducting scientific research.
- Direct costs refer to expenses that can be directly assigned to a specific research project and include:
- Salaries
- Wages for personnel
- Materials and supplies
- Indirect costs are expenses that are necessary for the overall research environment but are not directly assigned or used in a specific project. Indirect costs include:
- Administrative personnel salary costs
- Utilities
- Facilities
- Maintenance
- Rent
2024 Impact Report
