Brain Aneurysm Foundation Tatsat Patel, PhD & Kerry Poppenberg, PhD
Dr. Tatsat Patel is a postdoctoral research scientist at the University at Buffalo’s Canon Stroke and Vascular Research Center. His work integrates advanced imaging, computational modeling, and molecular profiling to improve diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. Dr. Patel received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from UB in 2022, where he pioneered multi-omics approaches to study stroke and aneurysm outcomes under the mentorship of Dr. Vincent Tutino. Originally from India, he completed his undergraduate studies at the National Institute of Technology, Surat, and has lived in Buffalo for the past 10 years. He is passionate about translating science into clinical tools to prevent stroke and aneurysm-related morbidity.
Please tell us your background, where you are from, schooling, etc.
I earned my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Surat (India) in 2015. I then moved to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies at the University at Buffalo, earning my MS in 2018 and PhD in 2022, both in Mechanical Engineering. I currently work as a postdoctoral research scientist in the Department of Neurosurgery at UB.
What led you to become involved with brain aneurysm research?
During my MS studies at UB, I was introduced to the Canon Stroke and Vascular Research Center and was inspired by their mission to improve stroke and aneurysm care. Witnessing the clinical relevance and life-saving potential of this research, I decided to pursue my PhD at the center and have remained committed to this field since.
In the simplest terms, what is the purpose of your project?
Our project aims to understand how aneurysms run in families by studying imaging and gene expression data from over 1,000 patients and their relatives. We want to identify markers that can help detect high-risk individuals earlier and more accurately.
In the simplest terms, what do you hope will change through your research findings?
We hope to improve how we screen and manage patients with a family history of aneurysms, enabling earlier detection and reducing the risk of life-threatening rupture events.
Why is the funding you are receiving through the Brain Aneurysm Foundation so important?
This funding allows us to analyze a one-of-a-kind dataset of familial aneurysm cases. It will help generate critical preliminary results needed to justify larger federal funding aimed at transforming clinical screening for familial aneurysms.
Kerry Poppenberg, PhD is the Chief Scientific Officer at Neurovascular Diagnostics, Inc., a start-up company that is developing blood-based diagnostics for brain aneurysms. She also serves as a research scientist in the Neurosurgery Department at the University at Buffalo. Her work focuses on advancing the understanding of cerebrovascular diseases, predominantly intracranial aneurysms and ischemic stroke. By combining gene expression data with other types of information, including imaging features and patient health data, she aims to develop multimodal biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognostication. Using advanced techniques like single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, she works to uncover new insights into how cerebrovascular diseases develop, ultimately striving to improve detection, risk assessment, and patient outcomes.
Please tell us your background, where you are from, schooling, etc.
I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. I completed both my undergraduate and graduate education in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Buffalo, earning my PhD in 2020. My dissertation focused on blood-based biomarkers and epigenetic mechanisms of brain aneurysms. I have my continued my research at the Canon Stroke and Vascular Research Center, while also translating these findings into a blood-based diagnostic for brain aneurysms through the start-up company Neurovascular Diagnostics.
What led you to become involved with brain aneurysm research?
During my first year of graduate school, I took a cardiovascular biomechanics course that highlighted translational research for cardiovascular diseases. I was fascinated by this research avenue as it offered a direct connection to individuals with these diseases. I subsequently joined the lab at the Canon Stroke and Vascular Research Center and began studying gene expression patterns in individuals with brain aneurysms. Having a family history of brain aneurysms myself, I am particularly interested in improving aneurysm detection.
In the simplest terms, what is the purpose of your project?
Risk for having a brain aneurysm and its rupture is significantly higher for those with a family history. This preliminary project aims to define the rate of familial aneurysm in a large population and to identify markers, based on imaging and circulating blood gene expression, associated with familial brain aneurysms.
In the simplest terms, what do you hope will change through your research findings?
Ultimately, we hope that successful completion of this research can change the screening guidelines for brain aneurysms, so that more people can screened and potentially treated before aneurysmal rupture. This project will also result in a better understanding of how familial aneurysms are different than non-familial (sporadic) aneurysms, in terms of imaging markers and gene expression patterns.
Why is the funding you are receiving through the Brain Aneurysm Foundation so important?
Funding from the Brain Aneurysm Foundation is critical as this grant is the start of a new line of research, aiming to better understand familial aneurysms and their prevalence in the population. Successful completion will position us to apply for larger, federally funded grants and continue this work. This project has the potential to help us change screening guidelines, so that more people can be screened and we can improve aneurysm detection.