Brain Science Foundation

By Supporting Groundbreaking Research

The Brain Science Foundation supports world renown scientists in all areas related to primary brain tumors. From developing and testing new treatments, epidemiological studies, improvements in patient care, and basic research.

Sandro Sarataga, M.D. PhD

Associate Pathologist in Neuropathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Pathology Assistant Professor in Pathology, Harvard Medical School

E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, FAANS

Neurosurgeon-in-Chief and Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery Harvey W. Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School

Patient and Caregiver Support

Those living with the diagnosis of a primary brain tumor—including patients, survivors, caregivers, and family members—can draw from a wide range of online patient-support services that include content-rich informational sites, online communities and personal blogs.

At Massachusetts General Hospital:

Dr. Priscilla Brastiano, Director of the Brain Metastasis Program at Massachusetts General Hospital

We are supporting the work of Dr. Priscilla Brastianos, neuro-oncologist and physician scientist, whose research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive primary and metastatic brain tumors. Dr. Brastianos is the Director of the Brain Metastasis Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, a unique scientific and clinical program with the primary objective of accelerating scientific findings into the patient clinics. She uses the latest genomic technology and analytic tools to comprehensively characterize the genomics of brain tumors, with a focus on understanding why tumors progress and metastasize.

Dr. Brastianos works with a team of national and international collaborators. The goal of her genomic studies is to arrive at a deep and precise understanding of the molecular pathways that drive the growth of brain tumors. This will then guide the development towards more rational, personalized, multi-faceted and effective therapeutic approaches. Her early pioneering work and novel discoveries, much of which was funded by BSF, now form the foundation of understanding which has enabled Dr Brastianos to initiate five unique clinical trials in primary and metastatic brain tumors, including trials of targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Dr. Brastianos’s clinical trial in meningiomas, which is funded by the Brain Science Foundation, is a national multicenter trial that is now open at more than 400 hospitals. Her work is historic! Dr. Brastianos’ trials in both primary and metastatic brain tumors are the first trials of their kind for personalized medicine applied to brain tumors! They represent a paradigm shift in the management of these common brain tumors. The clinical therapies now in trial have the potential to provide thousands of patients throughout the world an effective path towards treatment and, most importantly, hope for a cure.

At Brigham and Women’s Hospital:

Dr. Alexandra J. Golby, Haley Distinguished Chair in the Neurosciences at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)

As the newly appointed Haley Distinguished Chair in the Neurosciences at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), Alexandra J. Golby, MD, is spearheading several different clinical and research efforts, with the aim of designing safer, less invasive, and more effective interventions for neurosurgery patients. She is director of image-guided neurosurgery at BWH and principal investigator of the Golby Lab—a surgical brain mapping laboratory at Harvard Medical School (HMS)—where she leads a research team focused on the application of preoperative and intraoperative imaging techniques to optimize neurosurgical care. Her clinical practice includes both stereotactic and image-guided neurosurgery, including special clinical interests in surgery for patients with epilepsy and brain tumors, particularly those whose pathology is intimately involved with critical brain regions. Her translational research connects the bench to the bedside, focusing on the use of structural and functional imaging techniques to guide neurosurgical planning and decision making, while harnessing the power of multiple imaging and brain mapping techniques.

Longstanding support from the Brain Science Foundation has allowed Dr. Golby to expand these efforts and take on additional leadership roles at BWH, including her role as co-director of clinical functional MRI. As co-director of AMIGO (Advanced Multimodality Image-Guided Operating Suite)—a state-of-the-art medical and surgical research environment that houses a complete array of advanced imaging equipment and interventional surgical systems—she continues to advance leading-edge research projects that stand to transform the field. She also supervises the image-guided neurosurgery fellow, ensuring that these techniques and advances are developed within the next generation of talented neurosurgeons. In recognition of her remarkable accomplishments in the field, she was recently promoted to Professor of Neurosurgery at HMS, in addition to her role there as Associate Professor of Radiology.

About Our Financial Model

The Brain Science Foundation’s Financial Philosophy

Invest

Fill financial gaps that may delay or derail promising research and the availability of clinical therapies.

Learn

Build a body of information about the brain and brain tumors that can be shared widely with scientists, doctors, patients, and donors.

Inspire

Encourage donors of all types (individual, corporate, and Foundation) to support work that advances knowledge and clinical practice about the brain and brain tumors.

Blog & News

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