The Brain Science Foundation is a nonprofit, supporting organization that Steven and Kathleen Haley founded in 2002 based on a realization that little is known in the medical world about meningioma and other primary brain tumors and a desire to fast-forward research on them.
Meningiomas account for 30.1% of all primary brain tumors, tumors originating in the central nervous system, making them the most common. Most meningiomas are categorized as benign with a minority being classified as atypical or malignant. However, the word “benign” is misleading, as these tumors can cause significant disability affecting cognitive, sensory and motor function and can be life-threatening.
The study of meningioma represents a greatly underserved area of research. The Brain Science Foundation is working to close this gap in an entrepreneurial way by leveraging targeted, multi-disciplinary support for research, education and patient care simultaneously. In partnership with The Department of Neurosurgery at both the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, the BSF facilitates ground-breaking progress on a number of fronts:
- Developing, executing, and monitoring a strategic, highly responsive grant program that includes basic, clinical, and epidemiological research;
- Creating a one-of-a kind center focused on meningioma – The Meningioma Center of Excellence at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
- Expanding the number of investigators in the field by supporting researchers in the early stages of their careers;
- Sharing the results of promising research and treatment modalities through an aggressive outreach and communication program that elevates public and medical awareness of primary brain tumors through vehicles such as the inaugural Meningioma Summit.
- Heightening awareness among all Foundation constituents - donors, patients, health-care providers, and researchers - about meningiomas and other primary brain tumors.
