ASHEVILLE, N.C. Research into the deadliest type of childhood cancer has received a large boost from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF), supported by the Ride for Kids® program. The foundation awarded research grants totaling $2.25 million in 2005, including pre-Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Institute grants to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Childrens Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA), and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada. Basic research grants also were awarded to Baylor University College of Medicine and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2005. These grants join the foundation’s ongoing financial commitment to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Institute at Duke University, which is devoted exclusively to pediatric brain tumor research. Researchers at UCSF, CHLA, SickKids and Duke will collaborate to generate scientific knowledge of pediatric brain tumors that will bring about innovative and less invasive clinical treatments. To determine the 2005 awards the PBTF invited institutions to apply for the pre-Institute grants based on certain prerequisites, including a commitment to significantly advance pediatric brain tumor research within their institutions. The pre-Institute grant winners and the basic grants to Baylor and St. Jude were chosen by a scientific peer review committee. “When we established the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Institute at Duke with a six-year, $6 million dollar grant in 2003, it was with an eye toward expanding to other institutions in the future,” said Dianne Traynor, PBTF’s director of research and advocacy. “The collaboration of these institutions will help to fast-forward our understanding of pediatric brain tumors.” About the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Ride for Kids® The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation serves the childhood brain tumor population in several ways. The PBTF has a long history of funding innovative research initiatives on behalf of children with brain tumors. It provided founding grants for the largest brain tumor database in the country and the international medical journal Neuro-Oncology, and also funds national and international brain tumor conferences. The PBTF also has a family support program that includes a full-time social worker, patient education and resource materials, and a college scholarship program for brain tumor survivors. The PBTF is primarily supported by the motorcycling community through its Ride for Kids® (RFK) program in dozens of cities across America. These events bring together caring, fundraising motorcyclists and young brain tumor patients, their families and doctors for a day of celebration and hope. Now in its 23rd year, RFK has raised more than $30 million for childhood brain tumor research, making the PBTF the largest non-governmental organization of its kind. Ride for Kids® receives significant support from the Honda Rider’s Club of America, Honda dealers, the motorcycling media and numerous other motorcycle dealers and companies. It stands as a shining example of the good work being done by motorcyclists throughout the U.S. For more information about the PBTF or its programs, please call (828) 665-6891 or go to www.pbtfus.org.