About - Heart of the Brain

Our Mission

With a mission to find a cure for brain cancer, HOTB fundraises to support the work of world-class medical researchers and doctors, dedicated to understanding the causes and prevention of brain cancer; developing earlier detection techniques; and discovering new and improved treatments.

Our Vision & Values

Focused on solutions and progress, not limitations, HOTB envisions a cure for all forms of brain cancer in our lifetime, pursuing our cause with the highest values and utmost transparency, integrity and compassion.

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Our Inspiration

A Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit, HOTB was formed in 2018 with the merger of the IGN Foundation (founded 2014) and Art of the Brain (founded 2000).

Isabel Gloria Neidorf — who inspired the formation of the IGN Foundation and who helped create the artwork for the non-profit’s logo — was just 4-years-old when she was diagnosed with a rare and inoperable oligodendroglioma (oligo) brain tumor in 2003. She has endured thousands of seizures over her lifetime, causing physical, developmental and cognitive delays, but thanks to the cutting-edge treatments at UCLA, she has persevered and is now enrolled in Pathway at UCLA Extension, an educational program for students with intellectual and other developmental challenges.

Michael and Becky Neidorf, Isabel’s parents and members of the HOTB Board of Trustees, were a driving force behind the non-profit’s launch, sharing, “We don’t know how much it’s going to take, but what we do know is to do nothing is unacceptable. The work at UCLA has kept our daughter alive for 16 years.”

Art of the Brain, also dedicated to fighting brain cancer through neuro-oncology, raised $7.2 million in just seven years. The non-profit’s founder, Judi Kaufman, was also diagnosed with an oligo brain tumor, which she bravely battled for 18 years, sadly passing away in 2015 … but her spirit and dedication to finding a cure lives on through HOTB.

Isabel Neidorf

HOTB Doctors

Part of what makes the UCLA Brain Tumor Center unique is the depth and breadth of its clinical research. Advancing the science of brain tumor treatment, they offer research and clinical trials in every aspect of brain tumor care. Efforts include new imaging techniques and innovative cellular therapy treatments (biologics).

UCLA’s team-based and patient-centered approach brings together leading experts across multiple departments, including neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, radiation oncology and more. They believe that working as a team is the best way to deliver the most effective treatments, ensuring the highest possible functioning and quality of life for each of their patients. The UCLA Brain Tumor Center provides precision diagnosis, thanks in part to the broad range of imaging techniques offered, and all brain tumor tissue samples are reviewed by a world-class neuropathologist.

Last, but not least, it’s UCLA’s innovative treatments that make them stand out—relying on the most advanced imaging and surgical tools; the latest chemotherapy agents and radiotherapy; and the most promising and innovative clinical trials. UCLA uses the largest brain tumor database of its kind to predict how a tumor may respond to certain treatments.

Dr. Tim Cloughesy, M.D. Professor and director of Neurology-Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Co-director, UCLA Brain Tumor Center; Member, UCLA Brain Research Institute & UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Linda M. Liau, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. Professor & Chair of Neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Co-director, UCLA Brain Tumor Center; Neurosurgeon-scientist in UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center; Member, UCLA Brain Research Institute