The Cure Starts Now, founded by Cincinnati residents Keith and Brooke Desserich, has awarded a $1 million Big Fat Grant (BFG) through the DIPG/DMG Collaborative to Dr. Dalia Haydar of Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C. The funding will advance an innovative treatment approach for aggressive pediatric brain tumors, including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), the same cancer that took the life of their 6-year-old daughter, Elena.

Despite recent cuts to federal cancer research funding, The Cure Starts Now remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing pediatric brain cancer research. This grant reinforces its dedication to funding promising treatments and bringing new hope to families.

The latest $1 million grant will support Dr. Haydar's research into CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment that uses genetically modified immune cells to recognize and attack cancer. Her team is developing an approach that will potentially make treatment safer and more precise. The four-year project will study this approach in preclinical models, with plans to advance toward an initial clinical trial for certain pediatric brain tumors outside the brainstem.

What started with one Cincinnati family's determination has become a worldwide effort to find the Homerun Cure™. For The Cure Starts Now, every investment brings researchers another step toward finding better treatment options for children facing pediatric brain cancer.

Invest in future cancer research breakthroughs at donate2csn.org