7 Grants To Be Awarded at Annual Grant Symposium on September 22nd in Orlando

Boston, MA (August 30, 2010) – The Brain Aneurysm Foundation will award $110,000 in grants to leading researchers at The Fourth Annual Brain Aneurysm Foundation Research Grant Symposium. The grants will be awarded on Wednesday, September 22nd in Orlando, FL.  The symposium will help the Foundation continue to raise awareness of brain aneurysms, which affect an estimated 1 in 50 people in North America. All research grants will be awarded on September 22, 2010 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. at The Ritz Carlton, located at 4012 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32837.

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation awards research grants for basic scientific research directed at early detection, improved treatment modalities, and technological advances that will ultimately improve outcomes for patients with brain aneurysms.  This year, The Brain Aneurysm Foundation will proudly be awarding 7 research grants – 1 grant at $25,000, 2 grants at $20,000, 1 grant at $15,000, and 3 grants at $10,000.

The 2010 Research Grant Symposium is jointly-sponsored by University of Florida’s College of Medicine and The Brain Aneurysm Foundation. The September 22nd dinner will be hosted by Stephen B. Lewis, M.D., James and Newton Eblen Eminent Scholar in Cerebrovascular Surgery and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida. Dr. Lewis has an active basic science research interest in biomarkers of brain injury after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and trauma and currently serves on the Medical Advisory Board for The Brain Aneurysm Foundation. Guest speakers for the evening will include:

        ·         Christopher Ogilvy, M.D. – Director of  Endovascular and Operative Neurovascular Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts

      ·         Rafael Tamargo, M.D. – Director of Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland

The 2010 research grant recipients include:

       ·         Timothy Ellmore, Ph.D.- $25,000 – Instructor, Department of Neurosurgery -  “Imaging Neurocognitive Sequelae of Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms” – University of Texas – Houston, TX

       ·         J. Javier Provencio, M.D. - $20,000 –Neurological Intensive Care Unit Doctor at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute  - “Timing Neutrophil Inactivation to Prevent Vasospasm in Murine Model” – Cleveland Clinic – Cleveland, OH

·         Justin Cetas, M.D., Ph.D.- $20,000 – Assistant Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery - “The Protective Effect of P450 Eicosanoids in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage” – Oregon Health and Science University – Portland, OR

·         Alessandro Veneziani, Ph.D.–  $15,000 - Associate Professor of Math & Computer Science -“Computational and Statistical Analysis of Brain Aneurysm Morphology and Hemodynamics” – Emory University – Atlanta, GA

·         Steven Chang, M.D., Ph.D. – $10,000 – Professor in Neuroscienes, Stanford Medicine - “Identification of Genetic Indicators to Predict Cerebral Vasospam Following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage” – Stanford University – Stanford, CA

·         David Frakes, Ph.D.– $10,000 - Assistant Professor,  Arizona State University  - “Fluid Dynamic Optimization of Endovascular Treatment of Cerebral Aneurysms”– Barrow Neurological Institute – Phoenix, AZ

·         Mohammed Sabri, H.BSc, Ph.D. Candidate –$10,000 – Division of Neurosurgery - “eNOS Uncoupling as a Potential Target for Treatment of Delayed Cerebral Ichemia After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage” – St. Michael’s Hospital – Toronto, ON

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the nation’s only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to providing critical awareness, education, support and research funding to reduce the incidence of brain aneurysm ruptures. Brain aneurysms can occur in anyone, at any age. An estimated 3-6 million people in the United States have an unruptured brain aneurysm. Each year about 32,000 people in the U.S. will suffer a ruptured brain aneurysm. Over 40% of the victims will die and of those surviving, only a third will recover without disabilities. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation hopes to improve these tragic statistics and save lives by funding vital research and increasing awareness.

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is located at 269 Hanover Street, Building #3 in Hanover, Massachusetts 02339. For more information on The Brain Aneurysm Foundation, please visit:  http://www.bafound.org.

About The Brain Aneurysm Foundation

The Brain Aneurysm Foundation was established in Boston, MA on August 19, 1994 as a public charity. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the nation’s only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to providing critical awareness, education, support and research funding to reduce the incidence of brain aneurysm ruptures.