Brain Aneurysm Foundation Announces its 2024 Research Grant Recipients

September 5, 2024 |

5 min read

Funding Provided to 15 Academic Researchers from Across the US for New Innovations to Predict, Detect and Treat Brain Aneurysms

HANOVER, Mass., Sept. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Brain Aneurysm Foundation (BAF), the leading advocacy organization supporting education, research, and policy to transform the treatment of brain aneurysms, today announced the recipients of its 2024 research grants. Grantees include leading academic researchers from across the United States, with the BAF recognizing 15 unique initiatives that include projects that use artificial intelligence to predict the likelihood of aneurysm formation, next-generation imaging to better detect and identify aneurysms, research on the potential use of embedded sensors and blood tests to predict ruptures, and projects focused on delivering better patient outcomes following a rupture.

The researchers will be formally recognized at the BAF’s 18^th Annual Research Grant Symposium, which will be held in Boston on September 12. Awards of up to $50,000 will be provided to support each initiative.

“I am very encouraged by the continued focus of our recipients on prevention and the use of tools such as AI and machine learning, as well as advanced imaging and biomarkers, to one day predict who is at increased risk of rupture so physicians can intervene before patients are impacted,” said Dr. Christopher Ogilvy, M.D., Director of Endovascular and Operative Neurovascular Surgery at the Brain Aneurysm Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a founder of the BAF. “Advances in device technology have transformed how we can address aneurysms once detected, but ultimately it is preventing ruptures that remains our paramount objective and where we need to focus our investment in innovation.”

Today, federal research funding for brain aneurysms is disproportionately small when compared to other neurological disorders and stroke, with just over two dollars committed to research for each person afflicted. The BAF is working with the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Congress to close this imbalance as well as with researchers and academic institutions to expand their pursuit of NIH grants specific to brain aneurysms.

“There is a growing appreciation amongst lawmakers for the need to increase research funding as they learn about the cost and prevalence of this disease and its long-term physical and economic impact on survivors, their families, and caregivers,” said Christine Buckley, Executive Director of the BAF. “We believe today’s pipeline of research and innovation can rapidly transform care for patients and significantly reduce the number of preventable deaths for the one in fifty people at risk. However, doing so requires increased engagement by all stakeholders across government, industry, and academia, and this is where our advocacy will continue to focus until we achieve this goal.”

This year’s Research Grant symposium is being held in conjunction with the BAF’s 30^th anniversary, which will celebrate the organization’s decades of advocacy as it furthers its mission to prevent brain aneurysms through educational programs for individuals and medical professionals to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of a potential rupture, while providing resources and support for survivors, their families, and caregivers.

2024 BAF Research Grant Recipients:

Umeshkumar Athiraman, MD, Washington University in St. Louis

Targeting CCR6-CCL20 Axis for Improving Neurologic Outcomes After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Holly Berns, MS, Northern Arizona University

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to Correlate Circle of Willis Morphology to Potential Aneurysm Formation

Spiros Blackburn, MD, UTHealth, Houston

Life Expectancy After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Damage vs Repair

David Chung, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Towards Real-Time Perfusion-Guided Management of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Prajwal Ciryam, MD, PhD, University of Maryland

A CSF Leukocyte Atlas to Predict Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Robert Herbert, PhD, Louisiana State University

Soft, Sensor-Embedded Cerebral Aneurysm Model Towards Predicting Rupture Risks

Koji Hosaka, PhD, University of Florida, Gainesville

Aneurysm Treatment and Healing: IL-17 Inhibition and Inflammatory Cascade

Jennifer Kim, MD, PhD, Yale School of Medicine

Leveraging EEG to Develop Comprehensive Automated DCI Prediction and Treatment Models

Ioannis Koktzoglou, PhD, Endeavor Health

Next-Generation Magnetic Resonance Angiography for Improved Structural and Hemodynamic Evaluation of Brain Aneurysms

Takuma Maeda, MD, PhD, Barrow Neurological Institute

The Effect of Novel Brain Penetrant Manganese Porphyrin-Based SOD Mimic on the Long-Term Outcomes of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Farhad R. Nezami, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston

AI-Driven Comprehensive Hemodynamic Analysis and Safety Prediction for Intracranial Aneurysm Flow Diversion

Kamil Nowicki, MD, PhD and Adi Mittal, Columbia University and University of Pittsburgh

A Blood Test to Detect Cerebral Aneurysms - Part II - Platform Development

Tatsat Patel, PhD, University at Buffalo

Generalizable Deep-Learning Algorithms for IA Management from Computed Tomography Angiography Imaging

Yanning Rui, PhD, UTHealth, Houston

Treating Intracranial Aneurysms by Targeting TBK1-Mediated Endothelial FA-Phagy

Scott Simon, MD, The Pennsylvania State University

Understanding How Genetic Variations in the Metabolism of Iron Impacts Recovery from Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

About the Brain Aneurysm Foundation

Based in Hanover, Massachusetts, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the globally recognized leader in brain aneurysm awareness, education, support, advocacy, and research funding. The foundation’s mission is to provide information about and raise awareness of the symptoms and risk factors of brain aneurysms to prevent ruptures and subsequent death and disability; work with medical communities to provide support networks for patients and families; and advance research to improve patients’ outcomes and save lives.

Established in 1994, the foundation has a Medical Advisory Board that comprises more than 40 of the world’s foremost aneurysm experts — neurologists, neurosurgeons, interventional neuroradiologists, and other brain aneurysm specialists — from leading hospitals and universities.

For more information about the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, please visit bafound.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Media Contact:

Lynn Nuttall

Director of Marketing and Communications

Brain Aneurysm Foundation

781-826-5556 x 208

lynn@bafound.org

bafound.org