National pediatric brain tumor leader to help guide CBTN’s evolution toward a continuously learning health system

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) has appointed Sarah Leary, MD, MS, as Co-Chair of its Executive Board. Serving alongside Brian Rood, MD, she will help guide the network’s scientific priorities, institutional engagement, and continued growth as a global research community dedicated to improving outcomes for children with brain tumors. Dr. Leary succeeds Sabine Mueller, MD, PhD, who has completed her term as Co-Chair. CBTN’s staggered leadership structure supports continuity while bringing new perspective to the Executive Board.

A pediatric neuro-oncologist and longtime CBTN investigator, Dr. Leary brings extensive experience in translational research, clinical trials, and international data sharing. She is an attending physician at Seattle Children’s, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and medical director of clinical research at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research.

“Sarah understands both the complexity of pediatric brain tumor research and the urgency of connecting it more directly to the bedside,” said Adam Resnick, PhD, CBTN Scientific Director. “She’s helped shape a vision in which we learn from every child—not only those in clinical trials—and use that knowledge to advance research-informed care. Her leadership will be instrumental in bringing that vision to scale.”

Dr. Leary’s appointment comes as CBTN evolves from a research repository into the foundation of a continuously learning health system. Through Real-time Analysis and Discovery in Integrated And Networked Technologies (RADIANT), the Pediatric Proton/Photon Consortium Registry (PPCR), and the Pediatric Care eXpansion program (PCX), CBTN is working to automate clinical data collection, connect molecular and imaging information with outcomes, and expand participation across pediatric hospitals. These efforts could help researchers learn from more children over time, strengthen real-world evidence and external control arms, and more readily inform both research and clinical decisions.

“We have an opportunity to connect data-driven discovery and care in ways that were not possible when CBTN began,” said Dr. Leary. “By bringing together molecular diagnostics, advanced imaging, real-world treatment, and outcomes data across institutions in near real time, we can better understand each child’s experience and carry those insights forward for the children who follow. I’m honored to help lead this community as we work together to apply new data tools to accelerate pediatric brain tumor research.”

As Executive Board Co-Chair, Dr. Leary will help set CBTN’s annual objectives, guide scientific initiatives, lead investigator and committee meetings, and strengthen engagement across participating institutions. She will also represent CBTN among research, clinical, philanthropic, and industry communities.

Her leadership will support CBTN’s collaboration with the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and the National Cancer Institute’s Childhood Cancer Data Initiative, relationships central to connecting research infrastructure across as many as 200 pediatric hospital sites.

Dr. Leary chairs the COG Central Nervous System Committee, serves on the NCI Brain Malignancy Steering Committee, and leads research focused on improving outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults with brain tumors.

About the Children’s Brain Tumor Network

CBTN brings together researchers, clinicians, institutions, foundations, and families to make pediatric brain tumor data and biospecimens more accessible and useful. With 35 participating institutions and contributions from more than 9,000 children and young adults, CBTN has built one of the world’s most comprehensive pediatric brain tumor research resources. By sharing these resources earlier and more broadly, CBTN helps scientists ask more ambitious questions and move promising discoveries closer to the children who need them. Learn more at CBTN.org.

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SOURCE Children’s Brain Tumor Network