SARATOGA SPRINGS — The National Brain Tumor Society recently awarded two research grants, totaling $250,000, in the name of Saratoga Springs' Billy Grey.
Grey, who lost his fight with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) – a highly aggressive brain tumor – on July 13, 2001, just before his 13th birthday, is the honorary Chair of Research for these two grants.
The $200,000 Billy Grey Research Grant in Developmental Neurobiology Approaches to Pediatric Cancer Research was awarded to Alexandra Joyner of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's Development Biology program. Joyner's work seeks to identify genes and cell behaviors regulated by signaling pathways in the cell of origin of a common form of pediatric brain tumors.
The $50,000 Billy Grey Research Grant in Systems Biology was awarded to Dr. Markus Bredel at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Radiation Oncology Brain Tumor Laboratory. Bredel's work, which is focused on GBM, is designed to take potential brain tumor therapies from preclinical research through clinical trials.
On May 19 the Team Billy Ride and Walk for Research (www.teambilly.org), will celebrate its ninth annual event. It features 10-, 25- and 50-mile rides throughout Saratoga County, and a three-mile walk through the historic district of Saratoga Springs. Funds raised through the event contribute to the Billy Grey Research Chair, which to date has funded more than $1.7 million of innovative brain tumor research.