Ivy Blog

From launching several clinical trials to announcing a new global headquarters, 2021 was a year of progress and discovery at the Ivy Center. As we begin the new year, we take a moment to reflect on key milestones and look forward to building on the momentum in 2022.

In the spring of 2020, 29-year-old nurse and former firefighter, Ian Youngblood was on the frontlines in New York helping with the influx of COVID-19 patients. While he was there, Ian began experiencing some alarming symptoms. Within days, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now, Ian's prognosis is stable and he is back to living a busy and active lifestyle.

The Gerner family of New York founded StacheStrong in honor of GJ Gerner who was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Since 2019, StacheStrong has raised over $1.5M to fund clinical trials and research grants all going towards brain cancer research. Read about the Gerner family’s inspirational story.

At the 26th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO), the Ivy Brain Tumor Center’s team of brain tumor specialists and scientists will be giving 11 presentations based on our preclinical and clinical research findings. The abstracts were published in the journal of Neuro-Oncology.

As a PhD candidate in our preclinical lab, Costanza Lo Cascio has dedicated years towards studying glioblastoma. Costanza's research paper was recently published and identified a specific enzyme that can be exploited to develop more targeted therapies when treating this deadly cancer.

Even as someone whose resilient spirit had been the hallmark of their public image, Senator John McCain was sadly no match for glioblastoma. On the second anniversary of his passing, we honor McCain's legacy by continuing to push for increased awareness and support for research so others can have a fighting chance at this deadly disease.

In December 2019, Louise Hulme, a mother of two living in the United Kingdom, was diagnosed with glioblastoma. Like many of us, Louise spent a majority of the following year in lockdown due to COVID-19; however, what Louise did with her time was something very unique.

As a research technician in our preclinical lab, Ernesto Luna Melendez assists in the analysis of a patient's tumor and evaluates whether novel treatment regiments are effective in killing glioblastoma cells. Learn more about Ernesto's work at the Ivy Center and his inspirations for joining the neuroscience field.

In August of 2019, John VanGundy went to his primary care doctor for what he thought to be a simple sinus infection. He later learned his symptoms were being caused by something much more serious – a malignant brain tumor.

As a neurosurgical oncologist at Barrow Neurological Institute, Dr. Kris Smith was determined to improve the outcome for brain tumor patients. But when his father was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the battle against brain cancer became all the more personal.