IronMatt Research Grants

Pediatric brain tumor research is a long and expensive process.

It can take years to complete a single study. And it can take well over 15 years and $5 billion to turn a laboratory discovery into a new drug that impacts a patients’ life.

A scientist operating a research lab spends $50,000 to $500,000 each year on equipment and salaries, plus $20,000 or more a year for materials used in the lab. They need anywhere from $300 to $500 for cancer cells to use in just one experiment and as much as $800 on a single bottle of specialized solution.

This investment in time and resources is significant, but the potential impact is incalculable. Research is the only way we will discover and deliver cures to children with pediatric brain tumors — and IronMatt is dedicated to supporting research into this terrible disease.

Since 2007, our Board of Directors has worked to fulfill the IronMatt mission to financially support families living with pediatric brain tumors and to fund research in the hopes of finding a cure.

The Grant Program, driven by top physicians on our Medical Advisory Committee , continues to review groundbreaking project proposals from cancer researchers around the country.

As of 2025, IronMatt has granted over $8 million, funding 92 important research projects at institutions across the U.S. and Canada.

Our Rigorous Review Process

At IronMatt, we use a rigorous peer review process to select research grants. Peer review is a grant review process used by many organizations, including the National Institute of Health, to determine which research grants will be funded.

Through this process, we strive to fund the very best research — funding projects that have the potential to advance the field and impact patients’ lives as rapidly as possible.

Grant applicants are encouraged to submit pre-clinical and clinical grant requests for pediatric brain cancer. Grants are evaluated via our peer review process by the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC).

Apply to the Matthew Larson Research Grant today, and join the fight against childhood brain cancer.

How to Apply

To be considered for the 2026 research grant, applicants must first submit a letter of intent.

Deadline: November 16, 2025

Our MAC will review your letter of intent, and if selected, you will be invited to submit a formal application.

Further Details:

2026 IronMatt Grant Award Winners

One-Year Grant @ $100,000

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Dr. Mohammad Abu-Arja
Targeting Group 3 Medulloblastoma Stem Cells Using Protogenin-Specific CAR T Cells

John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Dr. Michael Koldobskiy
Targeting Epigenetic Plasticity in ATRT

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. John Prensner
Direct Targeting of MYC Translation in Group 3 Medulloblastoma

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. Antony Michealraj
Investigating the PDGFRβ signaling dependency in ZFTA fusion

First Year Funding of Three-Year Grant @ $150,000

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Dr. Alex Kentsis
Epigenetic DNA Damage Immune Crosstalk as a Therapeutic Vulnerability in Brain Rhabdoid Tumors

University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Dr. Siddhartha Mitra
Phagocytosis-Primed CAR Macrophages to Reprogram the Immune Microenvironment in Diffuse Midline Glioma

Second Year Funding of Three-Year Grant @ $150,000

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
Dr. Pratiti Bandopadhayay
Overcoming Resistance to Chemotherapy in Infant Brain Tumors

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Dr. Karisa Schreck
Effect of Targeted Therapy on Tumor Microenvironment in BRAF-Altered Glioma

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Dr. Lindsay Schwarz
Influence of Catecholamine Signaling on DMG

University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Dr. Sujatha Venkataraman
Testing the Preclinical Efficacy of Logic-Gated CAR-T Cells in Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT)

Postponing Second Year Funding of Three-Year Grant @ $150,000 until review of progress report (Jan 15, 2027)

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Dr. Sameer Farouk Sait
A Phase I Dose-Escalation Trial of Intracerebroventricular Radioimmunotherapy Using 89Zr/177Lu-DTPA-Omburtamab in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients with Recurrent or Refractory B7H3 Expressing Primary or Metastatic CNS Tumors

2025 IronMatt Grant Award Winners

First Year Funding of Three Year Grant @ $150,000

Dr. Pratiti Bandopadhayay

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
Overcoming Resistance to Chemotherapy in Infant Brain Tumors

Dr. Karisa Schreck

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Effect of Targeted Therapy on Tumor Microenvironment in BRAF-Altered Glioma

Dr. Sameer Farouk Sait

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
A Phase I Dose-Escalation Trial of Intracerebroventricular Radioimmunotherapy Using 89Zr/177Lu-DTPA-Omburtamab in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients with Recurrent or Refractory B7H3 Expressing Primary or Metastatic CNS Tumors

Dr. Lindsay Schwarz

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Influence of Catecholamine Signaling on DMG

Dr. Sujatha Venkataraman

University of Colorado, Denver, CO
Testing the Preclinical Efficacy of Logic-Gated CAR-T Cells in Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT)