What We Do
The Marit Swenson Shining Light Foundation for DMG/DIPG Research has three priorities:
- Fund medical research for DMG/DIPG, a deadly type of pediatric brain cancer. (List of recent grants and awards)
- Advocate for legislation that positively impacts the pediatric cancer community with a special focus on legislation that impacts DMG/DIPG. (List of current federal legislative efforts)
- Support and recognize scientists and doctors who research DMG/DIPG.
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We give a yearly grant for DMG/DIPG research. We also partner with the Society of Neuro-Oncology to recognize excellence in the field of DMG/DIPG research.
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We raised over $45,000 in 2023 to support much-needed research in the DMG/DIPG field. Please consider an online donation of any size!
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The Federal Government has the opportunity and power to make a significant difference in research. Find out about critical legislative efforts.
Read more.
Basic Information About DMG/DIPG
Any type of childhood cancer is devastating. In an ideal world, no child would get cancer and if they did, treatments would be effective and would cause little harm to the growing child.
DMG/DIPG is particularly brutal because a child has a virtually a zero percent chance of survival. While many cancers have seen progress over the past 50 years, DMG/DIPG has not, despite the efforts of dedicated doctors and researchers.
There is no known cause of DMG/DIPG. Although there are a handful of adults who do get DMG/DIPG, it is primarily a pediatric disease of the developing brain, occurring most often between the ages of 5-11. There is no scientific evidence that there is an environmental or hereditary cause.
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Children Diagnosed Each Year in USA
Approximately 300
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5 Year Survival Rate
Less than 2%
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Number of Treatments Developed for DMG/DIPG
Effective Treatments Developed has been 0
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Percentage of Federal NIH's Budget Supporting DMG/DIPG research
Less than 1%
The Shining Light Foundation Gives $22,000 to Support DMG/DIPG Precision Medicine
Gave $22,000 to the Koschmann Lab at the University of Michigan. Dr. Karl Koschmann and his research team use precision medicine to study how DMG/DIPG mutations can be therapeutically targeted. The grant money will specifically support the lab research of Dana Messinger, Ph.D. student, who is working on the interaction between the H3K27M and ATRX mutations.
