The therapy works through a two-part process that simultaneously takes apart the tumors’ support network while stimulating the immune system to attack the cancerous cells.

STOP CANCER, an organization committed to funding the most promising and innovative cancer scientists, has awarded four City of Hope researchers a total of $475,000 in career development money and seed grants. The researchers were recognized for their investigations in leukemia, lymphoma and brain tumor treatment.

City of Hope was granted a $5,217,004 early translational research award by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support the development of a T cell-based immunotherapy that re-directs a patient’s own immune response against glioma stem cells.

Behnam Badie, M.D., chief of the Division of Neurosurgery and director of the Brain Tumor Program, is principal investigator on the grant, which supports research into turning the body’s own defenses against brain cancers such as glioma.