Ashley Awarded V Foundation Grant for Poliovirus Research

David Ashley, MBBS, FRACP, PhDThe V Foundation for Cancer Research has awarded David Ashley, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, a three-year $600,000 grant for his proposed research project “Poliovirus-Instigated APC Responses Against BRaf (V600E) for Pedatric Brain Tumor Immunotherapy.”

In July 2017 Ashley was named director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology for The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. Previous to this appointment, he served as chair of medicine and director of the Andrew Love Cancer Center at Deakin University in Australia. He completed his fellowship and postdoctoral scholarship at Duke University Medical Center in the 1990s.

In an interview last July, Ashley said he hopes to revamp the infrastructure of pediatric brain tumor research at Duke and develop more effective approaches that will lead to improved clinical outcomes, as brain cancer now kills more children than any other disease, including leukemia.

An expert on epigenetic targets within pediatric brain tumors, Ashley is helping to transition the recombinant poliovirus (PVSRIPO) research program into the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology program at the center.

“Dr. Ashley’s knowledge and expertise will bring paradigm shifts to the way we understand and treat childhood brain tumors,” said Darell Bigner, MD, PhD (now director emeritus of the center) upon Ashley’s arrival at Duke this past summer.

Since its founding in 1993, The V Foundation for Cancer Research has awarded more than $200 million in research grants, designed to change the course of cancer. More than $8 million of those grants have been awarded to Duke researchers.  

On Saturday, May 19, The V Foundation for Cancer Research will host its inaugural Victory Ride to Cure Cancer, sponsored in part by Duke Cancer Institute. The ride starts and finishes at North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus in Raleigh. There are many route options to cycle, including a Family Ride. To sign on to ride with the Duke Cancer Institute team or to give, visit Team Duke Cancer Institute.