“The most powerful thing in this world is hope,” said Rex Pflueger, “at the end of the day [the Brain Cancer Scholar Program] is about hope and inspiring the next generation to do good.”

It was their search for hope in the face of tragedy that brought Noah Hahn, MD, and Rex Pflueger, MBA, together in 2020. Though Hahn, a graduate in the class of 1994, and Pflueger, class of 2019 and captain of the men’s basketball team, had both attended Notre Dame, it was a much more personal matter that introduced them. Molly, Hahn’s wife, had been diagnosed with glioblastoma in September 2019, the same month that Rebecca, Pflueger’s mother, had passed away from the same diagnosis. After learning of this connection through their shared Notre Dame circle, Hahn reached out to Pflueger in hopes that he could share some encouragement for Hahn’s young children.

“The worst thing you can do is be negative,” Pflueger advised them. At such a hard point in his own life, Pflueger was grateful that his parents had taught him to see challenges as opportunities, so he imparted that same wisdom to Hahn’s kids, encouraging them to have a positive mindset even in the face of such devastating adversity.

Taking inspiration from a summer scholar program that Hahn, a medical oncologist and member of the Johns Hopkins faculty, had previously established in partnership with Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Hahns, Molly and Noah, decided that they wanted to honor her legacy with another opportunity to “stimulate future leaders of medicine,” as Hahn stated. After having such encouraging communication with Pflueger and his family in the past, Hahn reached out to Pflueger with the opportunity to further brain cancer research with a memorial fund. It was a “no-brainer” for Pflueger to accept the opportunity to give tribute to Molly and Rebecca through such a valuable program. So, in October 2020, about a month before Molly’s passing, Hahn and Pflueger officially established the fund.

In order to be regarded as a permanently endowed fund, the Brain Cancer Scholar Program (BCSP) had three years to reach a funding milestone by which to ground the program. Before they knew it– within 4 months– that amount had been met. “It was confirmation of how much Molly and Rebecca had both affected people in a positive way,” said Hahn. This support affirmed the same thing for Pflueger, who was “overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and family.”

Since then, four cohorts of Notre Dame students have been funded by the BCSP to research brain cancer while honoring Molly and Rebecca. In the summer of 2025, four Notre Dame rising seniors were able to be a part of the mission that the Hahns and the Pfluegers had initiated. The BSCP fund was able to send them to labs at the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, Indiana University- Indianapolis, and the Harper Cancer Research Institute within Notre Dame, studying brain cancers in many different capacities and making contributions to the field in many ways.

After meeting with alumni from the BCSP this fall, Hahn and Pflueger were encouraged by the excitement that surrounds the program and its participants– their maturity, their willingness to dive deeply, and their motivation to be part of something bigger than themselves. From studying the effects of oxygenation and gravity on cancer cells to drawing up publications on surgeries and resections, the BCSP fellows have helped make great strides toward the hope of fighting brain cancer.

“There is a lot of hope,” said Hahn, “[through research] we’re able to look at [cancer] more closely and be more informed on the drivers and thus, the treatments of brain cancer. We’re seeing more and more cancers be treated.”

In the future, Hahn and Pflueger want to grow the fund for more students, more labs, and more overall opportunities. “If there’s one way that we can eradicate brain cancer, it is to grow the name and grow the awareness so that more and more people can be involved,” said Pflueger.

The Hahn-Pflueger Brain Cancer Scholar Program is a fund directed toward fighting brain cancer and exposing pre-med students to research and laboratory work, yes. But it is also an opportunity for such students to build the foundation for their future impact on the world of medicine. It is a tribute to Molly Hahn and Rebecca Pflueger’s legacies, and it is a beacon of hope for medicine and the battle against brain cancer.

Originally published by Kile, Gabrielle at harpercancer.nd.edu on October 16, 2025.