Advances & Updates

Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium Partnership Receives Prestigious ARPA-H Multi-Million Dollar Grant for Groundbreaking RADIANT Project, to Rapidly Advance Treatments for Children With Brain Tumors

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, October 9, 2024 – The Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC) is excited to announce its collaboration with the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) on a transformative grant project awarded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This grant will fund the innovative Real-time Analysis and Discovery in Integrated And Networked Technologies (RADIANT) project, which is designed to revolutionize data integration and utilization to significantly enhance the treatment and care of children with brain tumors and other rare diseases.

“The RADIANT project will harness real-time data across multiple modalities to advance our understanding and treatment of these complex conditions, significantly impacting patient care and outcomes,” said Dr. Adam Resnick, scientific director of PNOC, and director of the Center for Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Spearheaded by Dr. Resnick, the RADIANT project represents a groundbreaking advancement in pediatric healthcare. This initiative utilizes cutting-edge computational technologies to process and analyze extensive data sets, such as imaging and genomic data thereby enhancing real-time decision-making and fast-tracking the availability of precision medicines and personalized treatments. This is particularly crucial for conditions like pediatric brain tumors, which persistently exhibit poor prognoses, have limited treatment options, and are intrinsically rare diseases.

RADIANT aims to integrate data from electronic health records with genomic and imaging data, creating a comprehensive, real-time view that can be accessed by researchers and clinicians nationwide. 

“Utilizing the advanced technologies outlined in this project will fundamentally transform the execution and management of clinical trials. Direct data abstraction from electronic medical health care systems will enhance the conduct of clinical trials, facilitate seamless data integration, and accelerate learning throughout the clinical trial process, said Dr. Cassie Kline, PNOC co-lead and director of data management and integration.

Dr. Sabine Mueller, PNOC co-founder and lead, and co-executive chair of CBTN, emphasized the urgency: “Our patients do not have the luxury of time and it’s crucial that we become more agile and efficient in our approach. Many of our pediatric brain tumor patients face conditions with no established curative treatments. By harnessing innovative models powered by cutting-edge technologies, we can not only improve treatment options but hasten learning from our clinical trials in real-time.”

Dr. Michael Prados, co-founder and co-lead of PNOC further emphasized:The excitement surrounding this initiative stems from our ability to harness advanced technology to aid children battling deadly tumors. At PNOC, we have consistently prioritized real-time data sharing through our partnership with CBTN. This award will further enhance our capabilities for real-time data integration, which is crucial for rapidly advancing therapeutic options.

Through collaborations with over 35 hospitals in the CBTN and PNOC network and partnerships with leading technology firms like Amazon Web Services, MuleSoft, Kno2, Peyk, and Flywheel.io, the RADIANT project is set to standardize and advance data workflows, enhancing the interoperability of critical healthcare information.

About PNOC and CBTN
PNOC and CBTN are globally recognized consortia dedicated to transforming pediatric brain tumor care through collaborative research, rapid clinical translation, and the development of innovative treatment strategies. Their mission is to improve outcomes for children and young adults by integrating the latest research into effective clinical solutions on a global scale.

For more information, please contact:
PNOC_Regulatory@ucsf.edu

This research is supported by ARPA-H under agreement number 140D042490007.

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