UF researchers receive grant for brain cancer research

Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research awarded $350,000 in grants

The Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research, or FCBTR, in partnership with Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, ABC2, awarded $350,000 in grants to four researchers, including two from the University of Florida. The grants will be used to support brain cancer research at three leading Florida institutions: the University of Florida, The Scripps Research Institute and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. The awards support studies with a clear development path and potential to provide meaningful improvements in treatment outcomes for patients in the near future.

The awards fund research in progressive areas of scientific inquiry, including development of innovative gene, virus, nanoparticle and immunity-based therapies. The two recipients from UF are Ana Tari Ashizawa, Ph.D., and Catherine Flores, Ph.D.

This year, the FCBTR/ABC2 Grants Program received a record number of applications. Twenty-three applications were received from researchers at six centers, including Mayo Clinic, Moffitt, Scripps, University of Florida, University of Miami and University of West Florida.

“The Florida Legislature is to be congratulated, again, on establishing a program, the Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research, which continues to bring the world’s best brain tumor scientists to our state,” said William Friedman, M.D., chairman of the department of neurosurgery at UF. “It has been an honor to collaborate with ABC2 on this important scientific endeavor for Florida.”