Research funded to date
​Committed to a Cure
Since our founding in 2012, Abbie's Army has proudly dedicated all funds raised to specific and vital DIPG/DMG research projects. These carefully selected projects meet our strict criteria for awarding grants and have significantly advanced our understanding of the disease.
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We're excited about the potential of new technologies, targeted drug delivery and new whole disease treatment methods on the horizon. Combining all these advancements with existing known therapies holds immense promise for future DIPG management.
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Our focus remains on translating research breakthroughs into relevant clinical trials that can improve and extend lives, ultimately leading to a cure for DIPG.
Research Grants Awarded by Abbie’s Army so far...
£1,687,766
​​​​​DIPG Collaborative Leadership Partner
Grant awarded: $50,000 (£38,284.63)
Institution: DIPG Collaborative
Date: September 2024 - 2026
Description: The DIPG / DMG Collaborative is now a collection of more than 25 foundations with the common interest of inspiring research into the cure of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) and Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG) cooperatively funding millions of dollars of research worldwide.
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In an effort to further UK and European DIPG research advances Abbie’s Army have joined the DIPG/DMG Collaborative as Leadership Partners. We are excited again to be representing the UK as the only European member of the group alongside many likeminded foundations from the US and Australia. Funds support the research directives of the Collaborative and Symposium funding. Leadership Partners are also voting members for general operations of the DIPG/DMG Collaborative. New members are committed to a 2-year agreement.
GD2 CAR T Cell Therapy Clinical Trial
Grant awarded: £275,000
Institution: GOSH Children's Hospital Charity
Date: August 2022
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Description: Funding supports the first UK clinical trial using CAR T-cell therapy for DIPG/DMG brain cancers. Led by Dr. Karin Straathof and Prof. Darren Hargrave, the trial will treat 12 children, based on promising results from Stanford University's study. The money was raised in conjunction with six other parent-led children’s charities in the DIPG community.
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IL13-RA2 CAR-T Cell Therapy Clinical Trial
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Grant awarded: £477,016.58
Institution: UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Date: May 2021
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Description: Principal investigators Dr. Karin Straathof, Dr. Martin Pule, Dr. Aquilina, and Dr. Darren Hargrave are developing a CAR-T cell therapy targeting IL13RA2 for children with DMG/DIPG. The trial aims to provide similar opportunities as those available in the US.
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Development of H19-Targeting Antisense Oligonucleotides for DIPG Therapy
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Grant awarded: £19,800
Institution: The Open University
Date: December 2019
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Description: Dr. Francesco Crea leads this project, collaborating with Dr. Helen Fillmore (University of Portsmouth), Prof. Chris Jones (ICR), and Dr. Jon Golding (OU), to explore lncRNAs as therapeutic targets for DIPG.
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Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-protein coding transcripts, for several decades they have been considered non-functional transcriptional noise, more recently however numerous lncRNAs have emerged as important regulators of many biological processes.
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​The most up-regulated transcript found in DIPG is the embryonal lncRNA 'H19', confirmed in samples versus other paediatric gliomas and normal developing brain, it is also significantly associated with H3K27M mutation. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are short DNA strands that bind specific RNA targets and trigger their degradation. H19 targeted ASO’s designed and tested by the group induced a dose and time dependent inhibition in DIPG growth.
Key Signalling Pathways in the Tumour Microenvironment (TME)
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Grant awarded: £43,159
Institution: University of Portsmouth
Date: February 2019
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Description: Dr. Helen Fillmore's research focuses on understanding how TME influences DIPG development and response to treatment. The fact that DIPG arises in a region and age specific nature strongly supports the suggestion of dysregulation in a postnatal neurodevelopmental process.
Key research questions focused on understanding how tumour micro-environmental elements (TME) affect tumour biology and therefore any responses to treatment will be crucial to making progress. If we are to have better understanding of the origins of DIPG, precisely what controls the ‘evolution’ of disease and the maintenance of those malignant tissues, we may learn how to reverse or restore early key regulatory signalling pathways.
Project grant awarded in collaboration with the family of Cameron Truesdale Cure4Cam
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​DIPG Trials Researcher
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Grant awarded: £73,000 for 2 years
Institution: Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Date: February 2019- 2021
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Description: Funding supports a new researcher, Elisabet Fernandez Potente, to process trial samples and develop DIPG models under Prof. Chris Jones' guidance.
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As the UK's biology reference centre for children's brain cancer, there is need to fund a dedicated DIPG Trials Scientific Officer within the team and expand ICR’s capacity. This included children’s samples from other trials in the UK and Europe. The position was funded with help from the Islastones Foundation.
Profiling of biopsy samples for DNX2401​
Grant awarded: £15,000
Institution: Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton for Pamplona Group Spain
Date: 2018 (12 patients)
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Description: Led by Prof. Chris Jones, the project profiled the DIPG tumour samples of 12 newly diagnosed patients enrolled on the DNX2401 oncolytic virus clinical trial.
The Navarra Group conducted a single-centre, dose-escalation study of DNX-2401, an oncolytic adenovirus that selectively replicates in tumour cells, in patients with newly diagnosed DIPG. The patients received a single virus infusion through a catheter placed in the cerebellar peduncle, followed by radiotherapy.
The primary objective was to assess the safety and adverse-event profile of DNX-2401. The secondary objectives were to evaluate the effect of DNX-2401 on overall survival and quality of life, to determine the percentage of patients who have an objective response, and to collect tumour-biopsy and peripheral-blood samples for correlative studies of the molecular features of DIPG and antitumor immune responses.
PDX 'Avatar' Analysis for BIOMEDE
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Grant awarded: £100,000
Institution: Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Date: 2017 (40 patients)
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Description: Led by Prof. Chris Jones, this project establishes PDX (patient- derived xenografts) or avatar models for DIPG, from biopsy samples to test and identify effective treatments tailored to individual patients' genetic mutations.
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This included the first 40 UK patients enrolled on the BIOMEDE 1.0 clinical trial. The study has validated the clinical use of PDX models in DIPG treatment with drug screening during the course of patient disease, with all 'hits' fed back to treating clinicians and all biological data to Registry sites.
Targeting BDNF-TrkB Signalling & CAR-T Therapy in DIPG
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Grant awarded: $270,000 (£210,000)
Institution: Stanford University
Date: July 2017-2019
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Description: The Monje Lab focuses on a multi-pronged approach to DIPG treatment, targeting tumour vulnerabilities and the tumour microenvironment.
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Evolutionary Dynamics of DIPG (Year 2)
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Grant awarded: $97,470 (£62,169)
Institution: The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Date: October 2018
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Description: Co-funded with Finlay’s Fighters, this project, led by Prof. Chris Jones, investigates the sub-clonal architecture of DIPG to understand tumour evolution and identify new therapeutic strategies.
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Further exploration of the interactions between sub clonal populations of DIPG cells assessed the possibilities of disrupting communication as a novel therapeutic strategy. This second year of study was approved through the DIPG Collaborative scientific advisory board.
Convection-Enhanced Delivery (CED) Combination Study
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Grant awarded: £72,763
Institution: University of Bristol and Dukes University, USA
Date: May 2015
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Description: This project, co-funded with fundraising group Finlay's Fighters, aims to identify drug combinations for brainstem tumours using direct drug infusion methods to bypass the BBB. The method involves the robotic implantation of very fine catheters into the brain and infusion of drugs directly into the tumour.
Specifically the project aimed to study the suitability of drugs which act through the following mechanisms:
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AKT inhibition e.g. perifosine
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CDK4/6 inhibition e.g. palbociclib
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mTOR inhibition e.g. temsirolimus, sirolimus or everolimus
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MEK inhibition e.g. trametinib
Preliminary combinational drug strategies were found to show efficacy in DIPG cell lines.
Evolutionary Dynamics of DIPG (Year 1)
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Grant awarded: $25,000 (£17,800) and $115,325 ( £56,558)
Institution: The DIPG Collaborative and The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Date: Late 2013
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Description: A foundational partnership membership to fund peer-reviewed DIPG research, leading to substantial collaborative funding of DIPG projects.
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First year grant to define the sub-clonal diversity of DIPG with a view to better understanding the evolutionary dynamics underlying this highly heterogeneous tumour.
ICR have additionally developed methodology to isolate DIPG subclones in vitro in order to determine how distinct genotypes link to function within the tumour mass. The study was approved through the DIPG Collaborative scientific advisory board.
PhD Studentship: Institute of Cancer Research
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Grant awarded: £110,000
Institution: Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton
Date: October 2013 - September 2015
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Description: Funding supported Kathryn Taylor’s PhD project under Prof Chris Jones, focusing on whole genome sequencing and developing DIPG models to identify novel therapeutic targets.
CBTRC, Nottingham & Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
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Grant awarded: £82,000
Institution: Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre and Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
Date: 2011 - 2012
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Description: During our first year prior to registration Abbie's Army donated to CBTRC to further research efforts into all children's brain tumours and to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity through their flagship even 'The Marsden March'
Help Us Fund the Future of DIPG Research
Your support is crucial in the fight against DIPG. Every donation helps us fund groundbreaking research projects and clinical trials that bring us closer to finding a cure.
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Together, we can bring new treatments and hope to families battling DIPG. Your generosity will fund the next wave of research breakthroughs and bring us one step closer to a cure.
