The Children's Tumor Foundation is committed to driving research aimed at preventing, reversing, or managing neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and all types of schwannomatosis (SWN), including NF2-related schwannomatosis. As the premier non-governmental funder of NF research in the US, it primarily supports early-career researchers and early-stage research in these fields, bridging the gap to substantial governmental or industrial funding.
The grant program from the Children’s Tumor Foundation, specifically the Clinical Research Awards, supports various research areas within the context of neurofibromatosis and schwannomatosis. These areas include pilot clinical trials or studies adjunct to ongoing clinical trials, biomarker studies for diagnostics development, patient-reported outcomes for disease burden assessment, studies on the natural history of the diseases, research on clinical heterogeneity and its relation to genetic, environmental, or biologic factors, adult care concerns such as barriers to care, chronic pain management, mental health, and the development of evidence-based care and treatment guidelines.