St. Baldrick's Scholar

Based on progress to date, Oren Becher, M.D., AmWINS St. Baldrick's Scholar, was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Brainstem glioma is a rare subtype of brain tumor found mostly in children, which cannot be cured with today's treatments. Dr. Becher's research suggests that one major obstacle for progress in the treatment of these brain tumors is limited drug delivery due to the blood-brain-barrier, a protective mechanism that prevents the delivery of toxic chemicals into our brains (in this case- the cancer drugs). Dr. Becher is working with genetic models to find new ways to improve the delivery of cancer drugs to these brain tumors. This grant is named for AmWINS, a wholesale insurance holding company, which has raised more than $1 million for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.