Funding Research and Treatment of Glioblastoma
Finding the Cure
The Morizzo Foundation, established in 2024, is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the standard of care for glioblastoma.
We raise awareness, fund cutting-edge research, and provide direct financial support to patients and their families – ensuring that a diagnosis of GBM is never made harder by financial barriers to care.
Since 2024, we've provided over $325,000 to glioblastoma-specific research projects and patient support initiatives globally.
What is Glioblastoma?
Glioblastoma – commonly known as GBM or glioblastoma multiforme – is a highly malignant, fast-growing cancer of the brain and spinal cord, and the most common primary brain tumor in adults. An estimated 14,500 Americans will be diagnosed this year alone, representing more than 50% of all malignant brain tumors.
GBM can affect anyone at any age, though it is most commonly diagnosed between ages 45 and 70. It is not hereditary, and its causes remain largely unknown – meaning there is no way to predict or prevent it.
There is no cure. Most patients survive an average of 12 to 18 months after diagnosis, and the survival rate has remained virtually unchanged for decades. What was true for a GBM patient in 1990 is largely still true today – and that is exactly what the Morizzo Foundation exists to change.
Fundraising Initiatives
Since our founding in 2024, the Morizzo Foundation has contributed more than $325,000 to glioblastoma clinical trial research at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University – through a dedicated restricted fund ensuring every dollar raised for research stays in research.
In 2026, we launched our Patient Grant Program to address one of the most overlooked barriers in GBM research: financial constraints are the leading reason patients who are willing to participate in clinical trials don't. Our grants provide up to $10,000 to cover costs like travel and accommodations for accepted trial participants – because getting more patients into trials doesn't just help those individuals. It helps the science get there faster.
Research We Support
The Morizzo Foundation raises awareness and funds cutting-edge research toward a cure for glioblastoma – one of the most treatment-resistant cancers known to medicine.
Despite decades of research, only one medical device and four drugs have ever received FDA approval for GBM treatment, and not one has extended patient lives beyond a few months.
We fund the doctors and researchers working to change that. Our contributions to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University are directed exclusively to GBM clinical trials through a dedicated restricted fund – meaning every dollar raised for research stays in research, specifically where the need is greatest.
Duke Neuro-Oncologist Dr. Henry S. Friedman, M.D., talks about hope for patients, in spite of brain cancer.
Explore groundbreaking insights from Duke University’s top neuro-oncologists on why glioblastoma remains so deadly and the cutting-edge treatments that are giving new hope to patients.
Discover the innovative therapies and targeted approaches that are paving the way for a future where survival is no longer the exception, but the expectation.
Treating the "Hypothetical" Patient
By Meredith LiCalzi, Medical Student
In my time at medical school
I’ve noticed a disconnect
Between studying patients
And seeing them in the flesh
A “hypothetical” patient
Students riddle the answer
“Can’t breathe, can’t speak, can’t swallow his tea;
Anaplastic thyroid cancer”
“If I were him
I’d start drafting my will”
A smug student chortles
And laughs with a thrill
It’s easy to feel removed
From this “character’s” plight
When you survey the room
No patient in sight
Desensitization:
The name of the game
Dissect, don't reflect
Then do it again
No time to pause
To stop and digest
Keep up with the punishing pace
Of these tests
Eye on the prize
Get the diploma
Until my uncle was diagnosed
With glioblastoma
All at once
It became crystal clear
These “fictional” patients
Are actually real
So, I hold onto this tightly
I’ve made it my mission
To care, grieve, and pray for them
I’m their physician
"This poem was inspired by the shift in my perspective following a cancer diagnosis in my family. It served as a reminder that the patients we study in our pre-clerkship years all represent real people with families, jobs, hobbies, and passions. We must not lose sight of this in the high stress, fast paced environment of medical school that can sometimes promote knowledge and success over empathy and human condition."
Donate Today
We need your help to transform the standard of care for glioblastoma.
Your donation will directly fund the development of novel drug therapies for glioblastoma. Together we can find new therapies for glioblastoma.
Please consider supporting our mission to transform the standard of care for glioblastoma.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about upcoming events or questions regarding The Morizzo Foundation and our mission, send us a message today.