On July 1, 2006, University of Minnesota Cancer Center member Kirsten Ness, Ph.D., will begin receiving $685,000 in funding from the American Cancer Society.

The grant will be used to investigate physical limitations that may result in children who are diagnosed and treated for brain tumors, and how those limitations may impact their quality of life.

According to Ness, more than 60 percent of children diagnosed with malignant brain tumors can expect to survive into adulthood. However, little information exists on the physical performance limitations and quality of life issues that may result in permanent neurological damage from brain surgery and radiation, both of which are usually needed for a successful cure. This study will evaluate physical ability, disability and quality of life in young adults who are survivors of childhood brain tumors and compare that to a group of healthy persons.

"Understanding these limitations will help the medical community develop interventions to remediate functional loss and restore performance," Ness said. "Childhood cancer survivors will benefit when we understand and take into account treatments that place survivors at risk for disability and reduced quality of life."

Ness, an assistant professor of epidemiology and clinical research at the University of Minnesota Medical School, is one of more than 100 researchers across the U.S., 16 in Minnesota alone, who are currently receiving more than $8.5 million in funding from the American Cancer Society.