A Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit, Heart of the Brain 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 learning difficulties 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 learning disabilities and cognitive delays.

Michael and Becky Neidorf, Isabel’s parents and founders of Heart of the Brain, 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.”