DALLAS – February 1, 2024 – Carson Leslie Foundation #cureMEdullo (CLF), the only nonprofit specifically dedicated to funding medulloblastoma research, is pleased to announce a $400,000 commitment made by CLF and other public and private funding to advance the research of the prevention of the most common cancerous brain tumors in children, medulloblastoma. Recruited to Texas with support from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to continue his research, Dr. Michael Taylor, Director of the Neuro-Oncology Research Program at Texas Children’s Hospital leads this research team.
Brain cancer is the most common cause of non-accidental death in North America, and the most common cause of childhood cancer deaths are brain tumors. Medulloblastomas are the most common cancerous brain tumors in children. Current treatments are highly toxic and can lead to long-term late effects including endocrine, heart and neurological complications, visual and hearing disturbance, and more.
“Dr. Taylor’s recruitment to Texas with a plan to prevent the disease that claimed my son Carson’s life is a deep personal victory by honoring Carson’s dying wish, ‘make sure they study those tumors in my brain because if those tumors can help some kid someday not die from cancer like I am, I’d like that, it’s hard to have,” said Annette Leslie, CLF’s Founder and Chief Mission officer. Annette serves on CPRIT’s Advisory Committee for Childhood Cancers. CPRIT named their conference room the Carson Leslie Conference Room!
When Dr. Taylor and his research team boldly announced a plan to prevent medulloblastoma, the CLF #cureMEdullo Team was eager to welcome him to Texas with a donation to support his plan to prevent this form of brain cancer. Akin to how patients undergo routine skin cancer screenings, colonoscopies and mammograms, this research plans to offer protocols for early detection and prevention.
“You’ll hear Dr. Taylor say, ‘prevention is better than a cure’— he is right, and we are honored to support his lifesaving work”, continues Leslie, and by bringing our collective networks together, we will make medulloblastoma nonlethal sooner than later.”
- Dr. Michael Taylor is a molecular biologist and (CPRIT) Scholar. He’s the Director of the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Research Program at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine and leads a team of investigators dedicated to pursuing therapies for pediatric brain tumors, specifically medulloblastomas. “My vision is that no family ever has to face this devastating diagnosis or the aggressive therapies used to treat it,” stated Dr. Taylor in Nature Magazine. “Prevention is particularly important given that brain cancers are the most common solid tumor in children.”
- Carson Leslie Foundation (CLF) was established in 2010 to honor Carson’s dying wish: “Make sure they study those tumors in my brain because if those tumors can help some kid someday not die from cancer like I am, I’d like that, it’s hard to have cancer.” CLF’s co-founder, Annette Leslie, serves on the Advisory Committee for Childhood Cancers of CPRIT, a $6 Billion Texas agency to expand cancer research, CLF has invested and directed millions of dollars into medulloblastoma research. With Kids V Cancer and a host of other nonprofits, CLF helped advance new laws benefiting the overall state of childhood cancer. CLF also supports mental health and the well-being of children with cancer through gifts of encouragement and Under Armour backpacks sponsored by the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation. Annette Leslie was invited to be an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Customer Experience Hub Spoke.