The Bee Foundation Awards 2015 Grant for Innovative Brain Aneurysm Research to UCLA’s Department of Radiological Sciences
Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) July 21, 2015 -- The Bee Foundation, a non-profit, Philadelphia-based organization dedicated to raising awareness and reducing the number of deaths caused by brain aneurysms through innovative research, has announced the recipient of its $50,000 research grant for 2015.
The grant award is being made to the Department of Radiological Sciences’ Division of Interventional Neuroradiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA for research into early rupture risk factors using 3D analysis.
“We’re thrilled to receive this grant from The Bee Foundation and believe that it will significantly advance our ability to generate critical findings in [brain] aneurysm research,” said Dr. Gary Duckwiler, chief of interventional neuroradiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Treatment of a brain aneurysm carries its own risks, and the decision to treat is significantly influenced by aneurysm size. Smaller aneurysms are considered lower risk, yet we have all seen small aneurysms that have ruptured and larger ones that have not. There is an urgent need to explore and evaluate other risk factors to ensure that patients receive the safest and most effective treatment possible.”
Dr. Shazam Hussain of the Cleveland Clinic, a member of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, which reviewed the grant applications, agreed. “As UCLA’s winning grant application stresses,” Hussain says, “with the use of new technology, more brain aneurysms are being detected now than ever before. Yet individuals diagnosed with this condition often feel they are being asked to take a huge gamble -- to treat or not to treat – when neither they nor, to be honest, the medical community, has a large base of data on which to base the decision. This research has the potential to result in more effective evaluation, and treatment, of unruptured intracranial aneurysms, clearly a critical area of need.”
The grant is the first made by the one-year-old Foundation. It was established in May, 2014, by sisters Christine Kondra (Doherty) and Erin Kreszl (Doherty) who were inspired by their 27 year old cousin, Jennifer Sedney, who died in 2013 from a ruptured brain aneurysm. In its first year of existence, the Foundation has raised more than $120,000 and gained the attention of medical researchers across the country.
To find out more about brain aneurysms and the work of The Bee Foundation, upcoming events such as their annual Honey Bash Gala, as well as to support the foundation with a tax deductible contribution visit the Foundation’s website or contact info(at)thebeefoundation(dot)org.
About The Bee Foundation
The Bee Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness of brain aneurysms and increase funding for innovative research that changes lives. Information on the Foundation can be found at http://www.thebeefoundation.org, or on the Foundation’s Facebook page. Also visit us at Twitter and Instagram.
Christine Doherty Kondra, The Bee Foundation, http://www.thebeefoundation.org, +1 (617) 850-2515, [email protected]
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