Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation Commits to Two PBTF Research Grants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Winston-Salem, NC – July 7, 2026 – The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) has announced two research investment commitments from the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation, continuing a decade-long partnership in medulloblastoma research.

The commitments support two initiatives: the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) infrastructure, where the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation serves as a lead launch partner for medulloblastoma-designated data collection, and the Early Career Development Grant of Dr. Joelle Straehla at Seattle Children’s Hospital, whose research develops nanomedicine delivery systems to bypass the blood-brain barrier and reach pediatric brain tumors more effectively. The Foundation is funding years two and three of Dr. Straehla’s three-year, $300,000 award — a $200,000 commitment completing the grant the Hearst Foundation seeded with $100,000 in year one.

Mary and Brian Brandle founded the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation in 2010 in memory of their son Christopher, who died seven months after being diagnosed with an aggressive, treatment-resistant form of medulloblastoma at age ten. Their daughter Caitie, his older sister, is now a medical student at the Medical College of Georgia — a path shaped in part by her brother’s fight.

Grant 1: CBTN Medulloblastoma Infrastructure
PI: Dr. Adam Resnick, Children’s Brain Tumor Network
The Children’s Brain Tumor Network is home to one of the world’s largest open, AI-ready ecosystems of clinical, genomic, molecular, and imaging data for pediatric brain tumors, with more than 8,000 participants enrolled. The Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation’s commitment activates medulloblastoma-designated work within this infrastructure, funding the coordinators and analysts who ensure every child’s scans, treatment decisions, and outcomes are captured and made available to researchers worldwide.

This work has taken on new national significance through ARPA-H’s $50 million Pediatric Care eXpansion (PCX) program, which draws on CBTN’s data and infrastructure to accelerate research into clinical action — recognition of years of investment by partners like the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation.

Grant 2: Nanomedicine Delivery for Pediatric Brain Tumors
PI: Dr. Joelle Straehla, Seattle Children’s Hospital — Early Career Development Grant
Brain tumors remain among the deadliest childhood cancers in large part because therapies cannot reach where the cancer spreads. Dr. Straehla’s research develops specialized nanocarriers, injected into the fluid surrounding the brain and spine, engineered to bypass the blood-brain barrier and release medicine slowly over time.

With first-year support from the Hearst Foundation ($100,000), the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation is completing the grant with a $200,000 commitment across years two and three — the sustained investment that allows a young researcher to build, not just begin.

For Mary and Brian Brandle, these commitments mark the latest chapter of a partnership with PBTF spanning multiple research investments. The Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation previously funded medulloblastoma resistance research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2016), gene regulation in medulloblastoma at Massachusetts General Hospital (2018) and co-funded the Phase-III SIOPE/CONNECT study on neurocognitive outcomes for children treated for early childhood medulloblastoma in 2023.

“Every project we fund is personal for us.. Christopher had a very resistant form of medulloblastoma — every treatment proved ineffective and his cancer continued to spread.So, when we found a project focused on resistant strains, it really resonated,” said Mary Brandle, co-founder of the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation.

“These two grants reflect PBTF’s strategy: infrastructure that accelerates discovery, and researchers who carry it forward. The Brandle family’s decade of partnership is what gets us closer to a cure,” said Aly Levine, Chief Development Officer, Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

These new projects being funded reflect the power of discovery and the researchers who carry it forward — and how the Brandle family continues to turn Christopher’s story into progress for children everywhere. To learn more about PBTF’s research portfolio, visit https://curethekids.org/research/.

About the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation
The Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation was created in April 2010 to honor the life and memory of Christopher Brandle, who passed away from Medulloblastoma, a form of pediatric brain cancer, on March 31st, 2010. The main purpose of the Foundation is to provide charitable contributions to organizations dedicated to pediatric brain tumor research, primarily focusing on Medulloblastoma. In addition, the Christopher Brandle Joy of Life Foundation provides financial assistance to families that are struggling with the costs of caring for a child stricken with a pediatric brain tumor.  Learn more at cbjoyoflife.org.

About the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
Since 1991, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s research funding, advocacy, and family support have led the way in ending the childhood cancer community’s biggest crisis. Guided by the experiences of patients, survivors, and their families, PBTF is the only organization meeting families’ needs every step of their pediatric cancer journey.

As the largest patient advocacy funder of pediatric brain tumor research, the foundation funds and advocates for innovative projects that lead to vital discoveries, new clinical trials, and better treatments — bringing us closer to a cure, thanks to partners committed to ending childhood brain cancer.

For more information about the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation,
visit curethekids.org.
Media Contacts:
Lesley Madsen
Sr Director, Marketing
[email protected]