Team Hydro Researcher Receives Two Grants Totaling $11.3M from the DoD

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Dr. Bonnie Blazer-Yost, Ph.D receives $11.3 MILLION from DoD to expand her research; Indiana University-Purdue University to establish dedicated Hydrocephalus Research Center!

Last year Team Hydro was proud to sponsor Dr. Blazer-Yost by funding an Innovator Award through the Hydrocephalus Association to study a new possible treatment for hydrocephalus  targeting a gene called TRPV4. Based on the results of this work, her team has now received a $7.8M Focused Program Award to test TRPV4 agonists in two rat models, and a $3.9M Expansion Award to test an oral TRPV4 agonist in a pig model. These projects and funding will be used to establish a new, permanent Hydrocephalus Research Center at her university. What a return on investment!

2022 wasn’t the first time Team Hydro provided essential funding to Dr. Blazer-Yost’s team.  In 2015, Team Hydro funded another grant to support her work studying the pharmacologic modulation of cerebrospinal fluid production.  She put these funds to fantastic use, producing results that helped uncover new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind CSF and Hydrocephalus and allowed her to receive a highly competitive, ~$1.3 million grant from the Department of Defense, so that she can develop her insights into potential pharmacologic therapies!   Where else can you see such dramatic impact of research dollars at work?

We caught up with Dr. Blazer-Yost to hear about what brought her into Hydrocephalus research and to learn more about her exciting vision for the future.

 

TEAM HYDRO:  You just shared with us some extraordinarily exciting news that you’d received BOTH the Focused Program Award and the Expansion Award from the DoD.  These awards were made possible in part by research conducted using the funds from Team Hydro grants.  Could you share a little bit more about the awards and what they will allow you to do?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  Both awards represent collaborative research with multiple investigators. The Focused Program Award has 4 Principal Investigators and is shared equally between Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Johns Hopkins University. The Hopkins investigators are Drs. Shenandoah Robinson and Lauren Jantzie; the IUPUI investigators are Dr. Teri Belecky- Adams and myself. At IUPUI we have a genetic rat model of hydrocephalus and are treating with the TRPV4 antagonist. At Hopkins the investigators have induced rat models of post- hemorrhagic and post traumatic hydrocephalus and they are treating with erythropoietin and melatonin, two anti-inflammatory and neurorestorative agents. With the grant we propose to try all treatments in all models and then explore the efficacy of triple co-therapy since all of the agents work differently. Each of the investigators will also have independent projects looking at sequalae of hydrocephalus such as vision changes, inflammatory and pain responses, and changes in brain tissue.

As part of the Focused Program Award, we proposed establishing a Hydrocephalus Research Center. One of the primary goals of the center is to catalyze interactions between investigators interested in hydrocephalus. Our preliminary discussions with clinicians and investigators at the Indiana University School of Medicine have been very positive and we hope to broaden the
utility of the center to investigators in other institutions around the world. We would like to be able to provide some support for students and junior scientists to cross-train in different disciplines as well as to bring established investigators together for in-depth discussions and cross-fertilization of ideas.

The Expansion Award, as the name suggests, is meant for investigators who have had previous DoD funding. This award is in collaboration with the Veterinary School of Purdue University to use a pig model of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus to test our TRPV4 antagonist as part of our progression toward drug development. This grant also contains a component using cultured cell
lines (human and pig) to study inflammatory mediators.

TEAM HYDRO: Prior to these two latest exciting awards, partially fueled by the data generated using that initial seed grant from Team Hydro, you were able to secure a remarkable $1M award from the DoD to continue further research. What did that first $1M DoD grant allow you to uncover?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  The first DoD grant allowed us to make progress in several directions and to publish much of the work. We fully characterized the hydrocephalus in our rat model and completed a treatment with the potential candidate drug, a TRPV4 antagonist. These studies included MRIs and further studies of the brain tissues. We developed and characterized several mice models of hydrocephalus. We also characterized and studied what is called a continuous cell line of the choroid plexus epithelial cells, the cells in the brain that produce most of the cerebrospinal fluid. Continuous cell lines can be stored in liquid nitrogen and gotten out and used months or years later. The human choroid plexus cell line, while very difficult to grow, is valuable for studying how the drug works in just the cells of interest and is also important for the initial testing of new drug candidates. For example, this cell line allowed us to look at the effect of an SGK1 inhibitor which we are now exploring in animals with a new Team Hydro grant. Finally, we also looked at changes in other parts of the brain and obtained preliminary data for the next series of studies.

TEAM HYDRO:  Team Hydro provided you an additional grant last year to allow Preclinical Testing of SGK1 Inhibitor in hydrocephalus. What learnings did that research yield?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  That grant allowed us to further develop some preliminary data regarding a new potential compound, an SGK1 inhibitor, and move the project to the point of publication (manuscript in review). The SGK1 inhibitor works on an enzyme in the biochemical pathway controlling TRPV4 activity. This is a novel compound provided by an Italian collaborator from my renal research days. Importantly, we are working to develop a formulation for this compound which would be compatible with human use. The inhibitor is very hard to get into solution and the solvent we use for injecting the rodents cannot be used in humans. I think we have found a useable formulation which we tested in rats as part of the Team Hydro funding. Early MRI results are encouraging. We have also collected tissue from the treated rats to determine whether changes that occur in hydrocephalus are reversed with the drug. Those studies are on-going.

TEAM HYDRO:  But even after all those remarkable findings, funding wasn’t easy to come by, and the path towards a drug in humans remained daunting — what obstacles did you face?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:   There are two major obstacles – funding and drug development. Funding is always an issue for scientists. Both of the large grants which we were fortunate enough to obtain recently represent 3-4 years of major grant writing. In each case we were turned down in two previous attempts – each one year apart. It is only because of the team effort of all the Investigators involved in responding to reviewer comments and scrambling to obtain additional preliminary data that we were ultimately successful.

Drug development is another whole story. After the pre-clinical animal studies, my expertise ends and this has to be turned over to a company for further development and clinical trials. Several things are necessary before pharmaceutical companies are interested. Importantly, the efficacy has to be shown in several rodent models and then, preferably, in a large animal model.
One of the grants will allow us to address the former and the second will provide funds for the latter. Even after all of that, there are many other aspects, unfortunately not all scientific, that determine whether a company will be interested in further development.

TEAM HYDRO: You’ve had a remarkable career and are an accomplished researcher. Could you share again a bit about yourself and your lab? In particular, as you continue in the day- to-day trenches of the lab, what is your motivating vision for future hydrocephalus patients?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  I have always had a passion for science and that fascination continues to this day. As I tell my trainees as they are beginning their careers – research is not a 9 to 5 job. However, if one enjoys the challenge of this endeavor it is a very rewarding career. I thoroughly enjoy what I do and the brilliant people I get to work with. Science is a team effort, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with trainees and colleagues at my home institution as well as those in other universities. Without that community of science support, it would be difficult to get through the “down” cycles in the trenches when nothing seems to work. If the studies we are doing can make a difference to the development of treatments for disease that makes all the time and effort so much more worthwhile. I am delighted to be contributing to hydrocephalus research and I would love to see the collective efforts of researchers have an impact on patient care.

TEAM HYDRO: You haven’t always been focused on hydrocephalus research and were once a kidney researcher. Could you relate again how you found your way into hydrocephalus research, and the role the 2015 Team Hydro grant played in that process?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  Throughout my career I have studied the regulation of biochemical processes that control electrolyte and water balance which are important to maintain health of every organ in the body. The majority of my years in research have been in the kidney field studying hormonal influences on electrolyte transport proteins with a view toward understanding and treating hypertension, the renal components of metabolic syndrome/obesity and polycystic kidney disease. While I was studying polycystic kidney disease, one of the drugs we were testing in rat models brought me to the hydrocephalus field. One of the rat models had both polycystic kidney disease and hydrocephalus. Because we knew quite a bit about the biochemical mechanisms involved in polycystic kidney disease, we postulated an electrolyte channel called transient receptor potential, vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) would have an effect on that disease. As it turned out, there was little effect on the kidney in the model we were using but a substantial effect on the development of the hydrocephalus. This was a very interesting finding that was hard to ignore so a colleague and I were lucky enough to get some internal university funding in the way of a small pilot grant from the Radiology Department at the Indiana University School of Medicine to do a few MRIs to prove what we were seeing in changes of rodent head sizes was real. Unfortunately, during those studies, my colleague passed away from cancer. I inherited the rat model and the project.

Although I was involved in a clinical study of patients with polycystic kidney disease, I decided to see if we could get funding to continue the hydrocephalus research. I was very fortunate in that Team Hydro funded our grant application which is what allowed us to continue and expand these preliminary studies.

TEAM HYDRO:  One thing that has always been clear in talking with you, Dr. Blazer-Yost, is your relentless commitment to seeing hydrocephalus research translate into impactful new treatments for patients. What is your current state of optimism about that goal? What does that path look like going forward?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  I am very optimistic about the path forward. The Hydrocephalus Association supports scientific meetings within the hydrocephalus research community and it is at those meetings that I have had the pleasure of getting to know colleagues who are all working toward the same goal. It was at one those meetings that I first met Drs. Jantzie and Robinson. Our shared interests and collaboration has lead, over a period of about 5 years now, to the Focused Program award.

During these meetings, and then in the scientific literature, it is clear that the number of basic and clinical researchers devoting their efforts to hydrocephalus research has increased enormously in the last 5 years and many of these investigators are applying a wide range of approaches to this field. With this diverse approach it is more likely that major breakthroughs will happen. However, I must temper these comments with the reality of drug development which is costly and time consuming and often fails for the wrong reasons. Despite this, we will keep moving forward.

TEAM HYDRO: We are absolutely thrilled you and your team have committed yourselves to hydrocephalus research, and so see the progress you’re making. Could you comment for our donors on the important role that Team Hydro grants played in the research process, and how they allowed you to unlock these larger awards? In other words, why should people donate to Team Hydro? :).

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  I hope that my journey into hydrocephalus research underscores the need for funding for “high risk” projects. Because many of these projects fail, the large funding agencies devote little money to any projects that do not have substantial preliminary data to indicate the studies are likely to be successful. However, some of the most exciting advances in science are the result of failed hypotheses. Having the ability to follow those failed hypotheses (as I did) in risky projects often leads in unexpected directions and wonderful new discoveries. Team Hydro has supported my research through some risky endeavors and I know that you do similar things for other investigators. One cannot underestimate the importance of this type of funding in moving science forward and this is a very important contribution to the overall progress toward better treatments.

TEAM HYDRO: Is there anything else you’d like to share with Team Hydro supporters?

DR. BLAZER-YOST:  The funding that Team Hydro provided had a huge impact on my research at a critical time. I think it is also important to recognize the founders, the amazing Finlayson family, who I have come to know over the years. Their interest, enthusiasm and cheerleading are a constant reminder to so many of us that there is a very important goal at the end of all of these studies.  [editor’s note: The Finlaysons are so humbled by the success of the research Team Hydro has enabled, and is SO GRATEFUL to Bonnie for her relentless work in the lab, and to our many swimmers and supports who make funding these grants possible!]

Dr. Blazer-Yost’s work is a perfect example of everything we hope to achieve in supporting research through Team Hydro:  Not only does her work hit straight at the heart of Hydrocephalus on a molecular level, with exciting promise for non-invasive therapies, but it also has brought a new set of brilliant minds into the field of Hydrocephalus research, and laid a foundation for future breakthroughs and meaningful progress for patients for years to come.

But there still remains much to be done!  At Team Hydro, we are committed to supporting the next wave of researchers seeking to understand and cure this neglected yet terrible disease.  Let’s keep pushing!

Go Team Hydro!  Together we can CURE hydrocephalus!

 

Team Hydro’s Braves Alcatraz for 18th Time

The Team Hydro Foundation will host the 18th Alcatraz Swim for Hydrocephalus Research on August 13th, 2022.  This year ~40 Team Hydro swimmers will once again brave the bay in hopes of helping drive progress towards a cure.

Dr. Samuel Finlayson, MD, PhD, is a Team Hydro co-founder and Chief Medical Officer.  “At Team Hydro, we take our founding mission to help cure hydrocephalus very seriously,” he says. “This means directing every dollar donated for research into projects designed to uncover novel mechanisms of disease and/or to design and develop new treatments.  It also means building up a research community by investing in up-and-coming researchers in the field to help them secure large follow-on grants from public and private organizations.” 

To date, this approach has been very successful: Team Hydro has funded a dozen research projects on three continents, which together have already identified several new potential therapies and secured a 7x multiplier in follow-up funding from government agencies.  “Seeing this next generation of athletes join the cause is a great reminder both of where we have come from, and all the excitement we have for work yet to come.”

100% of funds raised by the Team Hydro Swim for Hydrocephalus Research will go directly toward funding these important hydrocephalus research grants. 

There are still a few spots remaining in the swim; interested swimmers can register at https://donate.teamhydro.org.  And if you aren’t quite brave (dumb?) enough to take the plunge, you can donate to the cause using that same link!

What will YOU do…?

The Choose Your Own Adventure Challenge!

COVID has stopped a lot this year, but it hasn’t stopped hydrocephalus.
We still need a cure

Get creative. Get determined. Make a difference.

You could run.  Swim.  Walk.  Do push-ups. Pledge to read a certain number of books. Or just make a donation — and invite others to chip in as well!  It doesn’t matter WHAT you do, so long as you do it for the 1 million Americans living with hydrocephalus! 
It really couldn’t be simpler:
  1. Set a goal for yourself to achieve
  2. Share your goal (and about the cause!) on social media and with friends/family
  3. Donate what you can to the cause, and invite friends/family to do the same
Find Out More

See examples of what folks are doing HERE


Choose Your Own Adventure!

Nina ran a half marathon for hydrocephalus research. What will YOU do this month?

Coronavirus forced us to cancel all our 2020 Group Swim Events – but hydrocephalus patients and researchers need support now more than ever!  That is why we are pleased to announce this ‘choose your own adventure’ event.  Contribute and get involved HERE!

Just set a goal that you will accomplish between now and August 29th (the intended date of our Alcatraz Swim).  You could run.  Swim.  Walk.  Do push-ups. Pledge to read a certain number of books.  Lose some weight. It doesn’t matter WHAT you do — so long as you are doing it in the name of the 1million Americans (and countless worldwide) afflicted with hydrocephalus.

For example, Pam “Gramma” Finlayson is determined that she will swim the combined lengths of Upper and Lower Suncook Lakes — nearly TWICE the distance of the Alcatraz Swim! Nina will train for and run a half marathon!  Peter is committed to shedding 10 lbs.  Get creative, get determined, and make a difference.  

Once you’ve set the goal, reach out to friends and family and post the link to this page on social media asking for support.  100% of funds raised go to hydrocephalus research.

Make a donation yourself to get the ball rolling, and then you’re off to the (virtual) races!  🙂 

Another million dollar research update! Q&A with Dr. Jennifer Strahle

Team Hydro is incredibly proud to announce an exciting research update!

Dr. Jennifer Strahle, recipient of a 2016 Innovator Award from Team Hydro, has been awarded a $2.4 million dollar grant from the NIH to work on Hydrocephalus. This award is a direct result of the data she generated using funds from Team Hydro and the Hydrocephalus Association, and is yet another example of our research investment thesis in action.

To learn more about Dr. Strahle and her research, see our interview with her below.

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Dr. Jennifer Strahle is a practicing neurosurgeon and the current director of the Pediatric Neuro Spine Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.  She is also an assistant professor at the Washington University School of Medicine, where she runs her own research laboratory.

In 2016, Team Hydro was proud to sponsor Dr. Strahle by funding an Innovator Award to investigate the role of iron in mediating ventricular injury in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus. This seed grant has now born fruit, as the data it produced has resulted in a $2.4 million dollar follow-on grant from the National Institutes of Health.

We caught up with Dr. Strahle to hear about what brought her into Hydrocephalus research and to learn more about the exciting work going on in her lab.

TEAM HYDRO: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us!  Amongst our grantees, you are one of a few who has opted for a dual-career as both a physician and a researcher.  What made you want to become a surgeon-scientist?

Dr. Strahle:  I have always had a fascination with the brain, dating back to my days as a neuroscience major in college. After college, I worked for two years in a research lab studying Alzheimer’s disease. Although I greatly enjoyed this work and felt like I had the potential to make a difference in people’s lives, it seemed that becoming a surgeon-scientist would allow me to be maximally impactful – being able to directly improve the lives of children with brain diseases while discovering new ways to treat or prevent these same diseases in my lab.

TEAM HYDRO:  What motivates you to work on hydrocephalus specifically?

Dr. Strahle:  Over the course of my lifetime, we have seen tremendous progress in cancer care, treatment of heart attacks, and organ transplantation. Yet hydrocephalus care has remained largely unchanged for the past fifty years. As a pediatric neurosurgeon, I see first-hand the devastating toll that hydrocephalus has on children and their families, and the enormous potential that improving care for these children can have for generations.

TEAM HYDRO:  You certainly don’t have to convince us on that point!  Thank you for working on this much under-appreciated condition. Could you tell us a bit about your current work in St. Louis?

Dr. Strahle:  I split my time roughly equally between my pediatric neurosurgical practice at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and my lab at Washington University School of Medicine. In the lab, we are studying the role of cilia, tiny hair-like structures that line the ventricles, in the development of hydrocephalus after neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage. We are first seeking to more clearly understand the ways that the initial bleed leads to hydrocephalus, after which we hope to develop ways to minimize or prevent the damage to the underlying brain. My clinical practice focuses on hydrocephalus, brain tumors, and diseases of the spine. Running between the operating room, the clinic, and my lab can make for some hectic days, but the synergies between the different components of my job are energizing and make for a wonderful career.

TEAM HYDRO: What challenges do you see as a surgeon treating patients with hydrocephalus?

Dr. Strahle:  As with any illness affecting very young infants, I view the most challenging part as helping patients and families cope with all the unknowns – infancy is a challenging time under the best of circumstances, and hydrocephalus specifically can be unpredictably variable in a way that causes enormous stress on families. From a more tangible perspective, having a shunt placed with the possibility of multiple revisions is a very real challenge for many children. My goal as a researcher is to eliminate the need for shunts for as many children with hydrocephalus as possible.

TEAM HYDRO:  Eliminating the need for shunts is truly the ultimate dream in this field.  As we work towards that goal, what are some of the big opportunities you see for future hydrocephalus research?

Dr. Strahle:  As I alluded to above, the major opportunity in hydrocephalus research is to develop preventive treatments to eliminate or minimize the development of hydrocephalus. Our hydrocephalus researchers at Washington University are studying multiple mechanisms – iron metabolism, cilia injury, ependymal injury, and neural cell migration to name a few – that all likely play some role in the development of hydrocephalus and its coincident injuries. I don’t yet know which one of these pathways could ultimately lead to a cure for some or all children who would otherwise develop hydrocephalus, but I truly believe we will get there during my career.

TEAM HYDRO: Wonderful. One last question for our readers and donors: could you comment briefly on the role that grants like your Innovator Award play exciting new labs like yours?

Dr. Strahle:  Support from the Innovator Award has been instrumental in allowing my lab to obtain preliminary data to apply for extramural NIH funding. With this initial support, we were able to identify several novel therapeutic targets within the iron handling pathway. This will be the focus of our upcoming areas of investigation and our NIH grant.

TEAM HYDRO: We sure are proud and grateful to be supporting researchers like you, Dr. Strahle!  Thank you so much for all your work, and we look forward to continuing to follow your exciting career moving forward.  

Learn more about the grants we sponsor at teamhydro.org/our-research/, and donate today at donate.teamhydro.org.

Team Hydro Set to Conquer Two Coasts in Back to Back September Swims!

Labor day weekend may mark the end of summer for many folks, but for TEAM HYDRO it marks the beginning of two amazing events aimed at raising Awareness and Research funds to combat Hydrocephalus!

First up, on September 1 the Team will once again enter the icy waters of the SF Bay and Escape Alcatraz in the 2nd Annual Team Hydro Swim For Hydrocephalus! As most know, the Team already participated in the Sharkfest Alcatraz swim back in June of this year. But the work we are doing cant stop there while people are still suffering from this devastating condition — so we will hit the water again.  This Alcatraz Swim, produced by and for Team Hydro, will certainly prove once again to be an exciting and inspiring event as one and all join together to fund hydrocephalus research.  Team Members will range in age from teens to septuagenarians, and include NCAA champions as well as swimmers living with hydrocephalus.  Swimmers will meet at 8:15am, and 0nland supporters can expect to see swimmers reaching the beach at Aquatic Park beginning around 10:30am.  We cant wait to see you in San Francisco on Sept 1!

Raising research funds is the mission of Team Hydro so swimmers, volunteers, and on-land supporters alike have been working hard to acquire donations in support of their Swim for Hydrocephalus.  Thanks to the generosity of Genentech and other private funding, 100% of these donations (along with all registration fees collected) will go directly to fund hydrocephalus Research!  

Following the Alcatraz Swim, Team Hydro members will gather across the continent the very next week, to cross the Boston Harbor on September 9th!  Joining this swim will be students and professors from Harvard and MIT, family members of people living with hydrocephalus, and even a grandmother.  

Team Hydro is working so hard in order to fully fund more important research aimed a finding a cure for this condition.  Hydrocephalus is the cause of more children’s brain surgeries than any other condition, and affects people of all ages from infants to oldest adults!

Can you help us FUND a CURE?  PLEASE donate here!!

Nothing can Stop the Penguins!

Despite soaring temperatures followed by thunderstorms that closed the pool for the afternoon session, the Penguins of Little Falls swam today for hydrocephalus!

And boy, did they swim — over 65 miles, in fact!  The team got off to an early start in this their 7th amazing swim for hydrocephalus.  Swimmers ranging from age 5 to 18 swam as far as possible in hopes of finding a cure for the life-threatening condition which took the life of a former teammate.

Each swimmer wore a bracelet honoring a person with the condition as inspiration to help them keep going when the going got tough, just as hydrocephalus patients must do every single day. 

These dedicated and compassionate swimmers also made cards in the sweltering heat for hydrocephalus patients which will be distributed to patients in hospitals across the country.

When the pool closed early due to storms, the team took their efforts to a local Chipotle where they continued to raise funds for important research! 

Team Hydro couldn’t be prouder to be affiliated with the incredible Penguins of Little Falls.  We thank each an every Penguin, as well as their coaches, parents, friends, donors, and on-land supporters for the great work they continue to do to ensure that one day a cure will be found for this difficult condition.  Team Hydro would especially like to thank team parent, Sarah Farnsworth, who once again organized this incredible event!

If you would like to donate to the cause and support the Team’s effort, you can do so at https://donate.teamhydro.org/SwimsForHydro2018

Go Team Hydro!

Go Penguins!

Let’s Fund a Cure!  

Dolphins “Dash” to Amazing Success!

The Dorset Dolphin Swim Team of Marietta, Georgia took to the water on Saturday and raised over $11,000 (and counting!) for Hydrocephalus Research.  This marked the 3rd Annual Dolphin Dash for Hydrocephalus!   This incredible Team Hydro event, organized by parents Anna & TJ Beck and Crysie Grelecki, reached new heights this year by increasing not only the amount of dollars raised, but also the number of participants swimming to beat this difficult condition affecting the brain.
 
This year Dolphins recruited coaches, friends, family and even swimmers from opposing teams to help them in their quest to find a cure for the life-threatening condition. Each swimmer raised much needed research funds and awareness with  every stroke, while on-land supporters and donors cheered them on from the deck.  A local radio station was also on hand to spin tunes and support these amazing young people in their quest to help others through their swimming.

The day got off to an inspiring start when young Dolphin swimmers Lily and Parker, who both live with shunted hydrocephalus, addressed the crowd along with their parents and Coach (who coincidentally has a young nephew named Charlie with hydrocephalus).  Lily and Parker then swam the first lap together as the rest of the swimmers cheered them on.  Incredibly, these 3 young people have already endured 9 brains surgeries in an attempt to treat their hydrocephalus! 

Lily and Parker’s  presence and the  inspiring words spoken, made the cause real for all those gathered that morning. Every person present was moved by the courage of these young kids who live with ongoing uncertainty  every day–knowing they could need another brain surgery at any moment. 
 
The group also learned more about the condition of hydrocephalus itself– how doctors are not yet certain what causes it, how it can happen to people of all ages from tiny premature babies to older adults, how doctors can’t cure it, and about what it feels like to live with a  condition for which  the only treatment  requires brain surgery!   

Thank you Lily and Parker for being willing to share your story to help us raise awareness and research funds which will help others like you in the years to come!

Thank you also to ALL the Swimmers, donors, sponsors, and on-land supporters who helped make this year’s Dolphin Dash such an enormous success!  

As with every Team Hydro event, EVERY dollar raised will be used to support research aimed at finding new, non-surgical treatments and ultimately a cure for hydrocephalus!  We cant wait for the day that Lily, Parker, Charlie and others with hydrocephalus will not need undergo any more brain surgery.  

If you want to support the cause you can still donate to the Dolphin Dash here!

You can learn more about Team Hydro Research here.

Check out pictures from the event below.

Go Dolphins!
Go Team Hydro!

Together we WILL Fund a Cure for Hydrocephalus!
 
 
Swimmers of all ages participated in this great event!
 

With each stroke, swimmers raised funds and awareness for hydrocephalus!

 

Lily and Parker are two swimmers on the Dolphins Swim Team who live with shunted hydrocepahlus.

 

Volunteers help keep track of all the laps!

Team Hydro Swims On at Alcatraz Sharkfest Event!

A marine wind advisory and low lying fog may have been enough to force the US coast guard to alter the swim course from Alcatraz today, but NOTHING could stop Team Hydro from swimming in support of hydrocephalus research! United by a great desire to find a cure for this life-threatening condition, dozens of Team Hydro swimmers congregated at Aquatic Park and swam their hearts out for the cause in the annual Sharkfest Swim.
 
 
 
And what a great day it turned out to be!  Team Hydro was recognized by Sharkfest as the charity of the day, and as a result, well over a thousand people in attendance at Aquatic Park learned about the condition called hydrocephalus and the urgent need for continued research.  Team Hydro Founder Peter Finlayson spoke passionately from the podium to the assembled crowd about the condition, receiving a robust round of applause by people touched by the story and mission of Team Hydro.  During the day,  many swimmers and their family members came to the booth to learn more about what we do, and many plan to join the Team Hydro squad in the future.
 
  
 
Team Hydro was so thrilled to meet and make so many new friends today, and not just raise funds for research, but also work towards fulfilling our mission of raising awareness for the cause. Many of our swimmers were once again atop the winners podium, and ALL swimmers had a great day!  
 
 
 
 
We left the shores of the bay more excited than ever for our next Alcatraz Swim, scheduled for later this summer–on September 1, 2018. 
 
If you are interested in swimming from Alcatraz with Team Hydro, on labor day weekend contact us at info@teamhydro.orgPlease note that space is limited! If you want to swim in our Boston Harbor Swim (a Sharkfest affiliated event),  on September 9th, sign up here– don’t forget to click the Team Hydro Box on your registration!
 
 
Thank you again to all our swimmers, donors, and on-land supporters!  We are making a difference together, as we work to Fund a Cure! 

Team Hydro Boasts Full Schedule for 2018!

With Memorial Day behind us, summer is in sight!

And of course, Team Hydro is hitting the water with a full schedule of events aimed at finding a cure for hydrocephalus !!

Team Hydro will open our season on 2018 June 8 with our annual participation in the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim!!  Almost 100 swimmers will be proudly wearing a Team Hydro cap as they swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco in the is always challenging 2 mile swim!! 

Swimmers will be jumping off the ferry at 8:50 am and braving the freezing cold and turbulent waters of the bay in an effort to fund a cure for an even more difficult and life-threatening medical condition!  Swimmers who have not yet set up a fundraising page can do so HERE! Make your swim count and raise funds for hydrocephalus research!  Join the team before and after the event at the Team Hydro banner to make new friends, get fired up for the swim, and of course grab your official race-sanctioned Team Hydro swim cap!  

Next up will be the 3rd Annual Dolphin Dash for Hydrocephalus Research on June 23rd!! This amazing event hosted and organized by the Dorset Dolphin Swim Team of Marietta, Georgia will consist of age-group swimmers (and any willing friends and family) swimming as far as they can during the morning of June 23rd in order to raise research funds.  

The Dolphin Swim Team seeks to honor of all people with hydrocephalus, but is especially mindful of 3 special young people as they swim for research–Teammates Lilly B and Parker, as well as Charlie, (the nephew of the team’s coach) who all are currently living with shunted hydrocephalus! 

This year, the Dolphins have invited swimmers from other teams in their league to join them in their quest to raise research funds for hydrocephalus!!  Team Hydro could not be more proud of our Dolphin Dash swimmers, donors, and on-land supporters!  

For More information on the 2018 Dolphin Dash, or to donate to the cause simply click HERE!

Team Hydro is also proud to announce that the 7th Annual Little Falls Swim for Hydrocephalus— the Penguin Plunge— will tamp place on July 3!!  This incredible event, in Bethesda Maryland features the Mighty Penguins of Little Falls Swim Team who, have already raised tens of thousands of dollars for hydrocephalus research.  The Team swims in honor of former teammate Kate Finlayson who passed from hydrocephalus at an early age. Team Hydro is amazed and grateful to the Penguins for their ongoing support of hydrocephalus research. We ARE making a difference, one stroke at a time! 

Team Hydro will then host a second Alcatraz swim on Saturday, September 1.  This special event will be open for registration soon! So stay tuned!

Team Hydro will round out its 2018 season in September by taking part in the Boston Harbor Swim for Hydrocephalus on September 9.   Swimmers (or VOLUNTEERS) interested in participating in this event can sign up on the Sharfkfest site — Be sure to check the TEAM HYDRO BOX– sign-up HERE.  

Team Hydro looks forward to another amazing year of raising funds for hydrocephalus research!  

We remain grateful to ALL our swimmers, donors , and on-land supporters!!  

And REMEMBER–you don’t have to be a swimmer to help the cause– ANYONE can raise funds for hydrocephalus research! 

Help us FUND a CURE for this debilitating and life-threatening disease!

Set up your own fund raising page HERE!

Team Hydro, and the over 1 million Americans currently living with hydrocephalus–THANK YOU!! 

See you in (or around) the water this summer!!