The Promise of Project Accelerate
Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) houses the largest childhood brain tumor biorepository in the world: 2,000 data sets for rare but deadly forms of pediatric brain tumors – of which there are more than 30 types and hundreds of subtypes.
Bridge To A Cure Foundation has partnered with CBTN to make more people aware that the more data available, the more breakthroughs will be made. And, we have some exciting news to share! Beginning in late September, researchers will be able to access 8,400 new data sets collected from 31 institutional sites worldwide and processed at the Broad Institute, a partnership between Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Project Accelerate researchers are focusing on the most aggressive types of childhood brain tumors, while also looking for discoveries for the rarest forms of the disease. CBTN will be making this flood of new information freely available to researchers all over the world, and the impact promises to be huge. Researchers will have access to so much more information to get one step closer to a cure for childhood brain tumors!
Childhood Brain Tumor Discovery
Discoveries in the area of brain tumors can’t be made by just one person. The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) is a great resource for scientists since it is made up of 31 member institutions across the world that are working for the same goal: No child dies or suffers from a brain tumor. This network of researchers, clinicians, patients, and foundations are unified around this mission. They share data, resources, and expertise to make discoveries. Because of internet cloud storage, CBTN information can be easily accessed by researchers and scientists all over the world. This improves collaboration and takes away the barriers that were once a big part of the research.
The Role of the Young Investigator
Young investigators are essential in research, and they are the next generation of principal researchers. We need to make sure they feel supported and have access to the necessary help to guide them towards the cure of brain tumors. Bridge To A Cure Foundation believes that the secret to better treatments and cures for childhood brain tumors will be found in the CBTN data. By collaborating with young investigators and others who use this data, we can accelerate the pace of finding a cure.
A young investigator is someone who has just finished their Ph.D. degree and would like to work on a research project independently. They can also be young scientists who might have post-doctoral experience and want to explore a specific topic to learn more about it, or search for a discovery they are hoping to make.
The beauty of a young investigator is the drive and the desire to find out the answers to the questions they are passionate about. Research can be tedious and even discouraging. It is challenging, but if there is mentoring, collaborating, and talking to people who may disagree with the young investigator, the research can take an exciting turn and areas may open up that were never thought about before. In the end, this can lead to a new discovery that was never an option or thought previously.
The young investigator uses CBTN data in their own individual projects and this helps them get even closer to understanding how to treat childhood brain tumors brain tumors. Additionally, there are specimen data along with biosamples that can provide the young investigator with more of an understanding of a brain tumor subtype and possibly a breakthrough in treatment. Some of the data come from patient visits, MRI scans, data from stained slides of tissue, and genomic data. Since there is not enough data collected from any single research center, collaboration between many researchers is important. CBTN encourages young investigators and other researchers around the world to share their findings to help inform future research projects, no matter where that research is being conducted.
CBTN’s Project Accelerate will greatly advance the work of young investigators by flooding the new data into what is already the world’s largest repository of childhood brain tumor samples for pediatric cancer research projects. It is important to CBTN to make sure that the help is there for the critical research and development of more effective treatments for tumors of the brain and central nervous system.
Please give today to help fund Project Accelerate.
NOTE: Exciting announcement about Bridge To A Cure Foundation and the Children’s Brain Tumor Network to follow soon. Keep an eye out for news about an important development.
