Three McGovern faculty receive Brain Aneurysm Foundation grants
The Brain Aneurysm Foundation named John Hagan, PhD; Peeyush Thankamani Pandit, PhD; and Devin McBride, PhD; as recipients of its 2025 research grants.
The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the leading advocacy organization supporting education, research, and policy to transform the treatment of brain aneurysms. In 2025, the foundation is recognizing 14 researchers for their exceptional initiatives aimed at saving lives and reducing disabilities. The researchers will be formally recognized at the foundation’s 19th Annual Research Grant Symposium on Sept. 11 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“We must work to ensure that promising science receives the resources needed to become lifesaving treatments,” said Christine Buckley, executive director of the foundation. “We are proud to support the remarkable work of these researchers and to know that the funds we raise go directly to those who can have the greatest impact in the field and for the patients.”
During Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month in September, and throughout the year, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation provides critical resources and support for survivors, their families, and caregivers. Because of a high rate of misdiagnosis, the foundation also supports educational programs for individuals and medical professionals aimed at increasing awareness of the signs and symptoms of potential rupture, as once detected, most aneurysms can be treated.
“Academic research has remained the foundation of the remarkable advances our field has achieved over my three decades in practice,” said Michael T. Lawton, MD, president, CEO, and chief of neurovascular surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute. “The BAF continues to play an outsized role in supporting researchers that will drive the next generation of breakthroughs and critical interventions for patients.”
Hagan, associate professor in the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery, received the award for his research, “Whole Genome Sequencing to Identify Candidate Familial Intracranial Aneurysm Genes.”
An intracranial aneurysm is a weakened area in a cerebral artery wall that leads to abnormal dilation and may rupture, causing subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite treatment advances, the mortality rate of this type of hemorrhagic stroke is more than 30%, and only half of survivors return to independent life. In the United States alone, about 30,000 subarachnoid hemorrhage cases occur annually.
Prior to rupture, intracranial aneurysms are usually asymptomatic and typically go unnoticed. When identified and treated before rupture, survival rates dramatically improve. Therefore, early detection, proper monitoring, and timely treatment of intracranial aneurysms are of paramount importance in preventing disability and premature death. Genetic factors play a significant role in intracranial aneurysm pathogenesis; however, a systematic investigation of genetic rare variations and their potential roles at the cohort level has not been done.
“For our research supported by the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, we seek to identify novel rare variants in specific genes that cause human intracranial aneurysms and subarachnoid hemorrhage, using familial genetic analyses and case-control studies,” Hagan said. “The IA/SAH families were recruited through the Department of Neurosurgery Neuroscience Research Repository that is one of the world’s largest IA/SAH biobanks, while we will take a data-mining approach of publicly available data to determine if specific candidate familial IA genes have a broader role in sporadic disease.”
The lab’s prior research demonstrates the merits of the experimental approach that directly implicated rare variants in thrombospondin-type 1 domain-containing protein 1 (THSD1) in both familial and sporadic intracranial aneurysm and subarachnoid hemorrhage cases.
Pandit, assistant professor of neurosurgery, earned the grant for research on “Repurposing Cancer Drug to Promote Vascular Repair and Neuroprotection after SAH.”
Pandit’s lab is repurposing a cancer drug to help the brain heal after a hemorrhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage often leads to devastating complications such as stroke, inflammation, and long-term disability. Current treatments are limited, leaving patients vulnerable to delayed brain injury.
“Our lab has discovered that an epigenetic protein called HDAC2 blocks the brain’s ability to grow new blood vessels and maintain its protective barrier,” Pandit said. “By inhibiting this protein, we found that damaged vessels in the brain can regenerate, and that these regenerating vessels also have the capacity to promote the formation of new neurons, paving the way for neurological recovery.”
With support from the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, the lab will test whether entinostat, an HDAC2-blocking drug already in clinical trials for cancer, can be used to treat brain hemorrhage.
“Using both preclinical models and living human brain vessels collected during neurosurgery, we are investigating how the drug promotes vascular repair and strengthens the brain’s defenses,” Pandit said. “If successful, this research could accelerate the development of a much-needed therapy for patients suffering from brain hemorrhage and related conditions, offering hope for improved recovery and reduced long-term disability.”
McBride, associate professor of neurosurgery, received a Brain Aneurysm Foundation research grant of his study on the “Role of Annexin After SAH.”
“Our lab investigates the mechanisms of delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid hemorrhage,” McBride said. “Delayed cerebral ischemia, a major cause of disability and death after subarachnoid hemorrhage, affects about 30% of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients. Our work has identified that neutrophils and platelets are contributors to delayed cerebral ischemia through brain microvessel occlusion, so we are focusing on these cells as potential therapeutic targets.”
Annexin A1 is a protective protein that is reduced by subarachnoid hemorrhage. Interestingly, annexin A1 targets both neutrophils and platelets to reduce their activation, which can prevent aggregation of these cells. McBride’s lab received the 2025 Brain Aneurysm Foundation award to study annexin as a potential treatment for subarachnoid hemorrhage.