2024 Impact in Action
One of the reasons why we are partnering with the GBMRO is that our fundraiser with them allows us to directly support new glioblastoma research initiatives.
To date, the GBMRO has funded 17 projects at leading cancer centers, helping researchers explore new approaches to GBM treatment and care.
For more information about the GBMRO, funding, and partners, please visit
www.gbmresearch.org
With your generosity in 2024, the nearly $40,000 raised was able to launch Project Build On through the GBMRO.
This project, a research initiative underway at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, explores strategic ways to target metabolic weaknesses of glioblastoma. Through innovative drug combinations, researchers aim to block key pathways that fuel cancer growth, offering new hope for patients with this aggressive disease.
Project Build On
Now underway at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Project Build On is exploring new ways to target metabolic weaknesses in glioblastoma and identify promising treatment.
Researchers at MD Anderson have identified a unique vulnerability that is often a characteristic of glioblastoma tumors. When the tumor suppressor gene, PTEN, is lost, it can disrupt metabolic processes that cancer cells rely on to survive.
The loss of PTEN has the downstream effect of knocking out ENO1, a protein coding gene important for maintaining sugar metabolism. That’s when ENO2 takes over to help in a back-up capacity. When ENO2 is inhibited in these situations, cancer cells struggle to produce the energy they need. Project Build On is exploring how we can combine ENO2 inhibitors developed at MD Anderson with existing drugs, like those used to treat arthritis and leukemia, to stop tumor growth.
Thanks to funding from the Glioblastoma Research Organization, Steven Millward, Ph.D., and his laboratory team are developing innovative ways to exploit this weakness and hopefully extend survival for patients. Dr. Millward is an associate professor of Cancer Systems Imaging at MD Anderson and a proud previous recipient of support from the Glioblastoma Research Organization. He earned his doctoral degree in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from Caltech. A dedicated scientist and mentor, he is committed to translating laboratory discoveries into real-world therapies.
Join Us Again in 2026
We’re so grateful to have had you on our team in 2024, and hope that you will join us in support once again this year. We’re waiting with eager anticipation to see how your generosity will advance treatment options and outcomes for people with GBM diagnoses.
With Love,
The Hopkins Siblings
Madeline, Emma, Benjamin, Lucia, Abigail, Lily Anna, Asher, Thomas, and James
