In its seven years of existence, the McKenna Claire Foundation has granted over $2,400,000 to researchers working to find cures for pediatric brain cancer. In 2017 alone, $275,00 was granted to Monje Lab at Stanford University, $100,000 was granted to the NIH (Dr. Kathy Warren), $25,000 was granted to Dr. Mark Souweidane of the Children’s…

The Monje Lab studies the developmental origins and unique biology of pediatric gliomas, especially DIPG. Childhood brain development and pediatric gliomas The myelinated infrastructure of the brain develops throughout childhood and adolescence, and discrete waves of developmental myelination correlate with the age and location of pediatric glioma formation. As mounting evidence from the Monje Lab…

  Lisa Roberts MCF Board Member  In early August I got to spend a week roaming the campus of my dream school…Stanford University.  Although I have long held Stanford in high esteem, my perspective became much more personal when, back in 2011, McKenna was diagnosed with DIPG.  It was during that time that I first…

04|20|2014 Last week was a good week for DIPG research. After years of few advancements in the understanding and treatment of the disease, a new crop of research has emerged which shines a light on the working biology of the normal pediatric brain and its affect on DIPG tumors, as well as the origins of…

Two years ago, three months after losing McKenna, we sat down with some good friends around a kitchen table and made the decision to honor her by starting a foundation in her name.  At that point, the details were a little hazy. We knew we wanted to fund research, but also wanted to involve the…

This year we celebrated McKenna’s birthday a day early by visiting some of the lemonade stands held during our2nd Annual Stand Up and Shine event.  With over 40 stands being held from the Hamptons to Hawaii, we could think of no better way to celebrate our girl than to visit so many amazing kids doing their part to help find…

Along with our promise to McKenna to find a cure for DIPG, we here at McKenna Claire have also promised to do our part to raise awareness and be advocates for all childhood cancers.  With the thought that our voices and our funds are more powerful when united, we began looking for a way to partner with other…

The McKenna Claire Foundation is grateful to the Chevron Corporation, its clients, customers and communities, all of whom supported the McKenna Claire Foundation campaign held in corporate owned and operated stores in May.   In its second year, this program raised a grand total of $363,638.16 to help fund much needed research in the field of pediatric brain cancer.  We,…

Wow!!! Where to start? Yesterday was such a mix of emotions. Such a rush of adrenaline to see friends, family and total strangers along the parade route supporting the cause, sadness because I hate the reason we do this and also know McKenna would have loved it, gratitude for everyone involved and those that stopped…

Nicole St. Laurent, a senior from Edison High School, who has known McKenna since about 5 days after she was born, asked if she could do her senior project for the CIBACS program in honor of Macky.  She then proceeded to put together an amazing comedy night featuring Dave Coulier (from Full House) and Rick Brodt. …