Lauren’s First and Goal, a non-profit organization, was started in 2004 by John and Marianne Loose in honor of their daughter, Lauren, a 16-year-old pediatric brain tumor survivor. Their foundation has been supporting research by Drs. Burger, Eberhart and Rodriguez through donations to the Pilocytic/Pilomyxoid Astrocytoma (PA/PMA) Fund for a number of years, and recently made their most generous contribution to date.
Support from Lauren’s First and Goal, as well as contributions from other dedicated individuals and groups, has allowed us to collect tissue from these rare tumors and share it with researchers at other institutions working on cures. We have also discovered a number of important molecular pathways in these tumors, some of which can be targeted therapeutically. One clinical trial was started based in part on this work, and we have published a total of 12 papers in peer reviewed Journals. We thank Lauren’s First and Goal Foundation, their supporters, and all other contributors to the PA/PMA fund for helping to discover cures for children with brain tumors.