The Gainesville-based Knox Martin Foundation will donate $150,000 to researchers at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Friday morning.
The contribution will bring the non-profit’s total for donated funding to $1 million since its founding in 2021.
Becky Martin with the foundation spoke Thursday on WDUN’s "Morning’s on Maine Street," saying the group aims to address funding shortfalls in research for Glioblastoma (GBM), a form of brain cancer, within the pharmaceutical industry.
“[Glioblastoma is] the most aggressive, and therefore it's the deadliest form of all brain cancers,” Martin explained. “It's not funded because, sadly, think about it, the outcomes for the patients aren't really great. So researchers and pharmaceutical companies in the past have not put a lot of effort into it.”
The foundation was created in memory of Knox Martin, a Gainesville native who lost his life to the disease at the age of 24 in December of 2020. Knox received a diagnosis of GBM in September 2017 but continued to embrace life by traveling the world and graduating from the University of Georgia in 2020.
The foundation partners with Duke’s research team to discover innovative treatments for GBM.
Martin said the most recent breakthrough in research is an FDA-approved treatment known as Vorasidenib, which can be used to treat lower-grade gliomas. The treatment, which has been in development for 16 years, was created in the same facility where the group currently funds research. The drug attacks gliomas by starving the cancer, which can slow down the tumor’s growth and extend the patient’s survival.
“What we're excited about is the translation effect,” Martin said. “First you're going to have the clinical trials, which is what we're funding now in a different type of research. But for Vorasidenib, they've had the clinical trials. They've got the success, they've got the FDA approval. We have patients whose lives are not only being extended, they're having no recurrence bill, and that is key with brain cancer. So what we're excited about is what's down the pipeline for those GBM patients.”
Martin also highlighted the various community partners based in North Georgia that helped bring the foundation to its latest milestone.
“Our hometown, Knox's hometown, has shown up and shown out for this cause,” she said. “Last Friday, we received our first local grant check from the North Georgia Community Foundation for $15,000. It was wonderful to be there with other nonprofits as they had their community grant award ceremony. We're. Honored to be selected and to know that they trust that we'll be good stewards with that funding.”
Asbury Chapel also recently contributed a $3,500 grant to the foundation. KMF’s other community partners include The Carroll Daniel Construction Company, Peach State Bank, and the Arts Council. In 2024, Carroll Daniel contributed over $100,000 to the community’s mission, while Peach State’s “Dress Down Friday” initiative allowed employees to donate to the foundation in exchange for dressing casually at work. Additionally, the Arts Council provided space for community education by hosting "Wellness Wednesday" events alongside the non-profit.
To hear more from Becky Martin, click play on the audio above.
