Brain Tumor Institute

Research and Clinical Collaborations

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At Children’s National Hospital, our researchers are pushing the scientific boundaries of pediatric brain tumor care, providing the latest, most promising diagnosis and treatment options to our patients. We partner with organizations in the Washington, D.C., area and around the globe to deliver world-class care through innovation.

Children's National Research Institute

The Brain Tumor Institute is supported by a robust bench and translational research program in the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at Children’s National. The program features specialized laboratories that conduct groundbreaking basic and clinical research aimed at improving outcomes for children who are undergoing immunotherapy or have been diagnosed with:

Medulloblastoma
High-grade glioma
Diffuse midline glioma
Low-grade glioma
Ependymoma
Rare brain tumors

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How Children’s National is Driving Global Collaboration

Leaders in the World’s Top Brain Tumor Consortia

Children’s National is a member of the following leading national and international pediatric brain tumor clinical consortia—collaborative networks of hospitals and research centers that work together to develop and test new treatments, share knowledge and improve care for children with brain tumors.

Advancing Pediatric Neuro-oncology Through International Collaboration

Our Neuro-Oncology team coordinates a bi-monthly regional tumor board to collaboratively discuss and develop treatment plans for patients with participants across the United States, including institutions in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut. We coordinate a monthly tumor board with Rogachev Hospital and The Burdenko Institute in Russia, and a second tumor board with 11 institutes in Brazil.

A Global Registry for Discovery and Hope

The International Rare Brain Tumor Registry, led by Adriana Fonseca Sheridan, MD, is a collaborative effort aimed at enhancing knowledge of rare brain tumors. By collecting and analyzing rare biospecimens and clinical data, the initiative aims to devise new treatment plans to improve health outcomes.

Children’s National maintains an active brain tumor biobank, which gathers samples from individuals and stores them securely, to aid research and provide hope and resources for affected families. These samples and annotated clinical data are made available to Brain Tumor Institute researchers as well as to the wider scientific community as part of our collaboration with the Children’s Brain Tumor Network of which Brian Rood, MD, is the executive co-chair. All patients and families are asked for their informed consent before biobanking or data collection occurs.