Community Partner: Ian's Friends Foundation

Ians Friends Foundation (IFF) was founded in 2006 by Phil and Cheryl Yagoda after their thirteen-year-old son, Ian, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at the age of two. In the months following Ians diagnosis, the Yagodas visited doctors and hospitals across the country in search of answers for their sons treatment. When they learned how little funding was being allocated to research projects conducted in the field of pediatric brain tumors, Ians Friends Foundation was started to fill the void for their son and the approximately 28,000 other children living with brain tumors.

Pediatric brain tumors are the leading cause of death from disease in children, and nearly thirteen children in the U.S. are diagnosed with a brain tumor every day. There is an immediate need for more research to identify effective treatments and cures, so more children will survive this disease. The Yagodas quickly learned that promising research can only occur with increased public awareness and funding for these projects. And since its inception, Ians Friends Foundations unwavering mission has been to help more children survive brain tumors by funding innovative research that will lead to groundbreaking therapies and cures.

There are only approximately 100 practicing pediatric neuro-oncologists in the U.S., many of whom struggle to secure the resources needed to conduct pediatric brain tumor research. Yet, new medical breakthroughs will save lives. Ians Friends Foundation donates hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to support and fast-track innovative therapies and treatments for pediatric brain tumors at leading hospitals and research labs nationwide.

Since 2006, Ians Friends Foundation has raised more than $10 million to fund seventeen ground-breaking research projects at ten world-renowned U.S. institutions including Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, NYU, Cornell, Johns Hopkins University, Emory University, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh. This funding leads to unique partnerships with prominent healthcare institutions and novel research that is unlikely to receive funding through other channels. IFF also serves as a beacon of hope and trusted resource for families, healthcare providers, and researchers at leading hospitals and universities around the country, and it is paving the way for industry-wide collaboration that will fast-track lifesaving pediatric brain tumor research with its inaugural WhatIFF Symposium, which was held in September 2017. The WhatIFF Symposium was a Shark Tank style forum during which nearly forty renowned clinicians and researchers from all over the country presented ideas for innovative research in the pediatric brain tumor field. After a robust discussion, WhatIFF Symposium attendees voted on three projects to receive up to $125,000 each from IFF in 2018. The WhatIFF Symposium served as a platform to breakdown research barriers, identify collaboration opportunities, and support lifesaving research ideas that will lead to effective treatments and cures for pediatric brain tumors, so more children will survive.

To learn more about Ians Friends Foundation, visit IansFriendsFoundation.org.