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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Team Hydro Sets Sights on Alcatraz for 20th Escape for Hydrocephalus – with Cardinal, Bears, and Hoosiers on board!
As incredible as it sounds, Team Hydro swimmers are indeed preparing for yet another swim across the frigid San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz Island in an effort to combat the life-threatening condition known as Hydrocephalus! This year’s swim will take place on August 10th, with swimmers set to jump into the bay at 8am that morning!
This year’s swim proves to be significant in many respects (as ALL Team Hydro swims are), as it will mark the 20th time Team Hydro swimmers have crossed the bay to raise important research funds, totaling over $1.7 million dollars in the process!
The swim will also serve as distinct reminder of the important work these dollars have helped produce, as this year, Team Hydro will be joined (both in the water and through on-land support) by researchers, faculty, and administrators from Indiana University, which thanks in part to Team Hydro funding, now houses what we believe to be the first and only dedicated Hydrocephalus research center in the world!
It was Team Hydro funding in fact, that gave Dr Bonnie Blazer-Yost funding for her very first Hydrocephalus research project. With thethe results of that initial study, this brilliant and dedicated professor was able to apply for additional grants, do more research (some also funded by TH), and now runs the Hydrocephalus Center on Indiana’s beautiful campus, leading a full team of researchers! The dedication of these researchers can NOT be questioned as three researchers from the center will be traveling all the way to California this summer to further the cause by swimming the bay (LINK)! We could not be more grateful to all at Indiana U for their incredible support, effort and desire to end the suffering caused by Hydrocephalus!
We are also excited to once again welcome Scholars and Professors from another great University, as Stanford Water Polo will once again be using their unique strength and skills to help the over 1 million people struggling with hydrocephalus in our country! In addition to the players, the Stanford coaches and numerous alumni will be swimming this year. These Cardinal men will be joined by Dr Ryann Fame, a dedicated Team Hydro swimmer and researcher who first started doing Hydrocephalus work thanks to a Team Hydro grant while a post-doc at Harvard in Boston. She now is a professor at Stanford Medical School where she runs her own lab dedicated to studying CSF (the fluid that accumulates in problematic ways to cause hydrocephalus)!
The Team Hydro cause is uniting people. Alumni from the Cal Water Polo team of UC Berkeley have been friends of Team Hydro for years, and this year alum Mike Sample has rallied five of his former Golden Bear Water Polo teammates (’09) to join him in taking the plunge for the cause. We are so grateful to have these big hearted, adventurous souls joining the Team Hydro family!
We gratefully thank and welcome all to Team Hydro, whether from the farmland of Indiana, “The Farm” of the California Peninsula, Berkeley, or anywhere in this wonderful world! To one and all, whether you are a swimmer, researcher, donor, or on-land supporter we say, thank you for helping us further our mission to raise awareness and research funds for hydrocephalus! Your help and support has enabled us to begin to change the paradigm regarding hydrocephalus treatment and research in very real ways!
Thanks to all, and remember you can still donate here (LINK)! Remember that, as always, thanks to our all-volunteer effort(where all costs are underwritten and time given freely), 100%of your donation will go directly to further more important research!
We hope to see you on the 10th, whether it be in the water or on the shore of Aquatic Park!
GO Team Hydro! Let’s end this thing called hydrocephalus!!
DONATE TODAY: https://donate.teamhydro.org/
The Chester Valley Dolphins Join the Team Hydro Family!
Over 100 swimmers from the Chester Valley Golf Club Swim Team in Malvern, Pennsylvania joined the Team Hydro Family this week! Each year the CV Dolphins hold a “Charity Swim” event where they gather for fun relay races and raise funds for a worthy cause. At Team Hydro, we applaud the parents and coaches who are teaching the kids the importance of using the talents and resources with which you’ve been blessed to try to make the world a better place!
All the swimmers had the opportunity to learn about hydrocephalus and the mission of Team Hydro before donning their new Team Hydro Swim Caps and lining up for fun relay races. A fan favorite was when the kids all used their hands to make ‘shark fins’ above their heads as they raced across the pool — a nod to Team Hydro’s annual swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco.
High schoolers Hailey Rittenhouse and Patrick Berry did a phenomenal job organizing and leading the event. Patrick expressed his feelings on the experience: “Before [the swim] I had little knowledge of hydrocephalus, but now I feel like an expert and certainly an advocate for [better] treatments! The charity swim proved to not only be very fun for the kids, but also informative and raised awareness for a very important cause.”
It was inspiring to see these two fine youth leading and motivating their fellow swimmers to learn about hydrocephalus. Their example will no doubt show the younger kids the importance of giving back. We’d also like to thank Coach Jay Schiller, Stacey Berry, and Michelle Lynch for empowering these kids to lead and enabling their success.
The donations are still coming in, but as of press time they had raised nearly $3,000 for hydrocephalus research. In keeping with Team Hydro’s long-standing commitment, 100% of funds raised by these kiddos will go directly to funding hydrocephalus research!
You can support the kids by making a donation on their team page HERE.
Check out below for fun photos from the swim!
The Dolphins Dashed AGAIN in 2024!
The Dorset Dolphin Swim Team in Marietta, Georgia was at it again! They took to the water on June 7th for the EIGHTH time as they swam in support Lilly, of one of their teammates, as well as a former teammate and coach’s family member who are all living with shunted hydrocephalus. They have already raised over $6,000 this year alone!
The Dolphins swam as long and as far as they could to raise funds and awareness for hydrocephalus research. All funds raised went directly to support Team Hydro Foundation’s supported research projects.
The Dolphin Dash provides an opportunity for these young athletes to learn about hydrocephalus and build awareness of the need for increased research, all while helping to find a cure for hydrocephalus! Please help these Dolphins reach their fundraising goals, 100% of which will go directly to funding research!!
Support them here: https://donate.teamhydro.org/event/the-2024-dolphin-dash/e584432
Looking back at the 2023 Alcatraz Swim
On August 19, 2023 over 80 Team Hydro Swimmers once again took the plunge into the icy waters of the San Francisco Bay for hydrocephalus research! We were thrilled to have the Malvern Prep Water Polo Team from Pennsylvania as well as players from the Stanford Water Polo Team out in force to support the cause!
The conditions this year were phenomenal and we had the fastest swim EVER (partly also due to the incredible athletes)! All Team Hydro swimmers finished safely…and we raised OVER $115,000 for research!
We were particularly moved and inspired by the presence of our our courageous Team Hydro swimmer living with shunted Hydrocephalus: Kate Damrell! We had the privilege of having both Kate address us at the rally after the swim, along with swimmer Tom Coury, a physician and father of a sweet daughter with hydrocephalus. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Pam Finlayson told the story of her daughter Kate Finlayson, whose courage and grace in her fight against hydrocephalus continue to inspire & uplift to this day.
Team Hydro remains committed to channeling 100% of your donations directly to research labs that are doing the most promising, innovative, potentially game-changing research.
Team Hydro Supporter contributions have funded research at 16 labs on three continents. Previously unknown biological mechanisms are being discovered. Research papers are being published. And promising new drug treatments are undergoing pre-clinical testing. There is a long road ahead, but we are SO excited that progress is being made as never before! For the first time, there is real hope.
Team Hydro has supported $1 million in research to date, and that has enabled our researchers to secure a remarkable $20 million in additional research grants. That is a 20x return!
If you have been meaning to make a donation but just have not gotten around to it yet, now is the time!
The 2024 Team Hydro Swim for Hydrocephalus Research will take place on August 10, 2024!
Registration is open so, don’t delay, sign up TODAY!
State of the Team: An Open Letter
Pictured here: Grant with his daughter Kate Finlayson, the inspiration behind Team Hydro. Along with his wife Pam and sons Peter and Sam, Grant keeps Team Hydro moving on the quest to find and fund a cure for hydrocephalus. You can support the cause HERE.
Dear Friends,
Our family is heading to SF this week, where on Saturday at 8:30am my wife Pam and sons Peter & Sam will jump into the frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay for Team Hydro’s annual Alcatraz Swim for Hydrocephalus Research!
I am pleased to report that, over the past year, Team Hydro’s research efforts have continued to have tremendous impact. A recap of 2022-23 highlights:
- Team Hydro funded four new “seed” grants (Innovator Awards organized by the Hydrocephalus Association, for which Pam serves on the board of directors and our son Sam serves on the research screening committee). For info on these new grants see (link).
- This brings Team Hydro’s funded grants to date to a total of 17, for an aggregate of more than $1 Million in grant funding. These grants have been awarded to 15 different researchers across three continents, and affiliated with 11 world class research institutions including among others Harvard University, Washington University of St. Louis, Indiana University, University of Queensland (Australia), University of California at San Diego, Wayne State University, Loma Linda University, and University of Patras (Greece).
- Team Hydro’s seed grants have achieved extraordinary multiplier effects, with the first $1 Million in funded research to date collectively qualifying for follow-on funding of more than $20 Million in major awards by NIH and DoD to multiple Team Hydro grantees — an aggregate multiplier of over 20x (up from 7x a year ago).
- One of our superstar grantees, Dr. Bonnie Blazer-Yost (recipient of two Team Hydro grants in 2015 and 2022) recently received major additional follow-on funding of $11.7 Million from DoD. (link)
- Building on these grants, Indiana University has announced plans to launch a dedicated Hydrocephalus Research Center to be led by Dr. Blazer-Yost — which we believe is the first such dedicated research center in the world. (link)
- Just this past week, it was announced that a second compound (utilizing SGK1 inhibitors) developed by Dr. Blazer-Yost’s research has been granted a patent by the US Patent Office. (link). Like her first patented compound (utilizing TRPV4 inhibitors), this one will also now move into clinical trials on the path to approval by the FDA for non-surgical treatment of Hydrocephalus (i.e., a pill to reduce CSF production, potentially enabling treatment without the surgical placement of high risk shunt devices).
- Another super-star researcher, Dr Carolyn Harris was the recipient of a Team Hydro-enabled grant in 2020 to study the differences in how immune cells in the brain react after a shunt is placed. Earlier this year, Dr Harris secured nearly $3M in follow-on funding from the NIH to continue that research! This funding will allow her team at Wayne State to decipher how and why shunts are failing – from what tissue source and what those cells are doing – and then importantly how to prevent that from happening. Inspired by her successes, she’s also founding a startup company to build a more physiologic valve for patients!
- Dr. Ryann Fame, a brilliant young scientist who conducted cutting-edge research on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, the complex system that becomes disrupted with Hydrocephalus) as a post-doctoral fellow under a Team Hydro grant to the Lehtinen lab at Children’s Hospital in Boston, has been appointed Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford Medical School. (link) Dr. Fame will now lead her own laboratory at Stanford, focusing on the CSF system and Hydrocephalus and funded in part by another Innovator Award this year. Dr. Fame, who is an open water swimmer, will also personally join us for the Alcatraz Swim this Saturday! (She previously completed several Team Hydro swims with us across the Boston Harbor.)
We are so proud and grateful that Team Hydro has been been able to play a small role in encouraging Dr. Blazer-Yost, Dr. Fame, Dr. Harris, and a growing number of additional brilliant scientific innovators (link) to bring their training, talents and passion to the challenge of solving Hydrocephalus. This has been the dream for Team Hydro from the beginning — to encourage a new generation of our most promising researchers to apply their talents to improve scientific understanding, develop better treatments, and ultimately find a cure for this tragic condition that has has been neglected for so long.
We are pleased to note that Team Hydro has been able to apply its limited resources with extraordinary efficiency and careful stewardship:
- With all overhead provided on a volunteer basis, we honor our commitment to donors that 100% of donations go directly to research
- By partnering with our good friends at the internationally prominent Hydrocephalus Association, which runs a request for proposals each year, we gain access to a remarkable pipeline of world-class research proposals — with Team Hydro enjoying the right to select for funding the proposals that we are convinced have the greatest potential for outsized impact
- As noted above, the quality and impact of Team Hydro-funded research is reflected in the tremendous follow-on funding multiplier we have witnessed: more than 20x to date, and continuing to rise as more funded projects mature.
We are thrilled to welcome for the Team Hydro Alcatraz Swim this year one of our largest groups of dedicated swimmers ever, including the entire Stanford Water Polo team (link), the Malvern Prep (PA) water polo team (link), members of the San Ramon Valley High School water polo team, as noted one of our distinguished grant recipients (go Professor Fame!), and we will again be joined by a remarkable athlete who lives with shunted hydrocephalus (go Kate Damrell!), as well as friends and family members of other heroic hydrocephalus patients.
We also continue to be grateful for the dedication of local age group swim teams that sponsor fundraising events for Team Hydro: in particular, we salute the Dorset Dolphin swim team of Marietta, Georgia (link), which hosts the “Dolphin Dash” each year to raise funds and awareness for Hydrocephalus research (our love and gratitude to the Beck family, whose inspirational daughter Lilly swims — and lives each day — with shunted hydrocephalus). The successful 6th annual Dolphin Dash completed this summer brought the total contribution from local swim team events to Team Hydro’s research funds over the $100,000 mark.
We applaud and celebrate the efforts of all of these swimmers to help spread the word: using their strength as swimmers to do good, and tapping their networks to raise awareness and funding for the cause. We believe they will be great champions and ambassadors for Hydrocephalus research into the future.
Finally, with great gratitude for your generous support, we note the following milestones in our overall fund- and awareness-raising efforts:
- Team Hydro’s total funds raised has now surpassed the $1.5 Million mark
- Since inception, Team Hydro has received generous donations from approx. 10,000 contributors — a metric of our collective success in the key goal of spreading awareness!
- The recent liquidation of an (anonymous) in-kind donation of a private equity fund interest brought its contribution to Team Hydro to more than $300,000 — our largest single donation to date.
The great success that we have been blessed with is giving us confidence to be able to deploy effectively a larger amount of funding going forward. So if you are in a position to help — with personal donations, in-kind donations, and/or recommendations for other sources of support — we will continue to be extremely grateful!
Whether it is for $3 or $300,000, every donation is a precious treasure to us: a genuine expression of your love, empathy and respect for those who suffer, and a commitment to do what we can to make things better for those who struggle with tremendous pain and constant impending tragedy.
Thank you again for your friendship and support for this important cause! If you are in a position to do so and feel so inspired, Pam’s fundraising page can be found here.
Sincerely,
Grant Finlayson
Chief Towelholding Officer
Team Hydro Foundation
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Pictured left to right: Grant, Sam, Pam, Kate, and Peter FinlaysonA look back: Q&A with the oldest man ever to swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco
Last Summer, Charles Cantoni entered the icy waters off Alcatraz Island with Team Hydro to swim to San Francisco to raise funds an awareness for hydrocephalus research. At 87 years young, he became the oldest person ever to do so. Mr. Cantoni and his family plan to be at Aquatic Park again this year to cheer on his fellow Team Hydro Family of swimmers. As we ramp-up for this years swim, we paused for a moment to catch up with him as he reflects on his accomplishments from a year ago!
TEAM HYDRO (TH): It has been one year since you became the oldest person ever to participate in the Alcatraz Swim. What are your thoughts as you reflect back on the experience?
CHUCK CANTONI (CC): Looking back, I’m glad I was able to do the swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco, at age 87. Really pleased with my donors coming up with $18,000. Team Hydro is a first class foundation. I swam with a great bunch of swimmers, some very fast, none slower than me. The time I spent over close to 3 years in preparation for the swim was worth ever minute (swimming over 500 miles for endurance, learning about wet suits and learning to open water swim).
Photos from the 2023 swim are proudly displayed at Mr Cantoni’s home
TH: It was wonderful to have you with us, and we are so happy you were up for the challenge. Your family has a personal connection to hydrocephalus, would you mind sharing a little bit about your family’s experience?
CC: Our third son Jason was born in 1972. He was afflicted with hydrocephalus at birth. On day 2 of his life he had his first shunt implanted, to be followed by more than 20 surgeries throughout his 51 years. We faced an unknown future but decided “we can do this.” Jason has lived and worked in Fairbanks, Alaska for 17 years and now resides in California. The keys for our family were to learn all about hydrocephalus, to be a team mate to Jason in working through all of the medical factors and to “Never Give Up.”
Mr. Cantoni pictured on race day with his wife Bonnie, and swimmate Steve Haney
TH: Perseverance is certainly something we can all learn from the examples of the brave folks like Jason who are afflicted with hydrocephalus. How did you find out about Team Hydro? What led you to decide to join the Team Hydro Family?
CC: We found out about Team Hydro through their relationship with the Hydrocephalus Association. We joined the Team Hydro family to do our part to support hydrocephalus medical research and to help create awareness of hydrocephalus.
TH: We’ve been partnering with the hydrocephalus organization for over 15 years to increase funding for research — we are so delighted to felt inspired to join the cause like you did! It sounds like you had a great experience during the swim. What is one of your fondest memories from participating in the Team Hydro Alcatraz Swim for Hydrocephalus Research?
CC: My fondest memories are definitely of the generous response of my donors. Not only their donations, but the communication that went on between these generous folks and myself. If you are thinking of donating, include a message of encouragement (the donation software allows for it). You will then have a very appreciative happy swimmer. We all need an atta boy now and then!
TH: What, if anything, surprised you about your experience?
CC: Well, first off, I was surprised at how wet suits work and how to get in and out of them. Never had one in all these years. I was also surprised and happy that we could raise $18,000 (we started out with a goal of $5,000).
TH: So awesome that you continue to challenge yourself and learn and experience new things! How has becoming a member of the Team Hydro community impacted you and/or your family?
CC: We’re very pleased to see the work of the foundation regarding hydrocephalus. We’re very encouraged to see the research dollars being raised by Team Hydro go 100% to the grants. Oh, and Sam and Peter – they’re the best.
Mr. Cantoni (center) exits the bay with fellow swimmers Tom Coury (left) Steve Haney (rear) and Peter Finlayson
TH: You’re too kind. We are thrilled to be able to associate with so many amazing folks, like you and your son Jason and your wife, in the Team Hydro Family. We’re always looking for terrific people to welcome into the fold — be it as researchers, swimmers, towel-holders, or donors. What would you say to someone thinking about making a contribution to Team Hydro?
CC: There are a lot of fund raising activities going on that involve physical activities such as walk-a-thons, etc. Your swimmer who is asking for the donation is likely stepping out of his/her comfort zone to brave the chilly waters of the San Francisco Bay. Your donation will help convince them that the trip is worth it !!!
TH: There is nothing like the Team Hydro Alcatraz Swim for Hydrocephalus Research, that’s for sure! Our volunteer model ensures that 100% of the funds received from the swim go directly to research, so in addition to supporting the swimmer, donors can be confident they are making the most out of their donation dollars. Looking ahead to Saturday, 82 swimmers will be joining the cause again this year, many for the first time. What advice do you have for them?
CC: Far be it for me to give advice to those who know so much more about swimming than I do. Instead, I would say “Just go do it.” When you are half way across, spin around and take in the view. Darn few people ever get that chance. I tried that but the 2 foot chop obscured my view. May calm waters be with you.
TH: The Bay Swim is certainly an incredibly unique experience. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
CC: Well, yes. A very hearty thank you to you swimmers for jumping into the Bay to raise funds for hydrocephalus research. If you stop and think about it, it’s getting to San Francisco the hard way. And an equally hearty thank you to you donors for your kindness and generosity. WELL DONE.
TH: Thank you so much for your continued support and love for Team Hydro, Mr. Cantoni. We look forward to seeing you at Aquatic Park!
Malvern Prep Water Polo Team Swims from Alcatraz with Team Hydro for Hydrocephalus Research
Hydrocephalus is a neurological condition impacting ~1 million Americans; there is no cure and the only treatments require brain surgery. The Friars are using the talents they honed in the pool to swim from Alcatraz to support this worthy cause!
San Francisco, CA. The Team Hydro Foundation will host the 19th Alcatraz Swim for Hydrocephalus Research on August 19th, 2023. This year, the Boy’s Water Polo Team from Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, PA will take the plunge into the icy-cold waters off the notorious Alcatraz Island. The Friars will use the swim to kick-off their rigorous pre-season training trip to Northern California. This event highlights the schools Augustinian Core Values of Truth, Unity, Love.
“My family have been big swimmers and water polo players since we were kids. We started swimming when my sister needed physical therapy as part of her rehab from brain trauma associated with her hydrocephalus. She developed into a Championship swimmer, and my brother and I both played Division 1 water polo at Stanford. Our sister Kate loved swimming, but unfortunately her life was cut short by hydrocephalus,” said Peter Finlayson, Co-Founder of Team Hydro. “To see the Water Polo community rally around the cause like this really means a lot; it is inspiring to see these young men willing to look beyond themselves as part of Team Hydro!”
The Friars will contend for the Inter-Ac title again this season, and their coach Jay Schiller is delighted to get the campaign underway by challenging the boys to accomplish together something that was thought to be impossible for decades, while giving back to the world around them. Peter will help out the Friars this fall as a volunteer assistant coach.
“As soon as I learned about Team Hydro and the ground-breaking research that Team Hydro is enabling, and the amazing cause I knew that it was something we had to be a part of,” said Coach Schiller. “Our team is hoping to be able to raise at least $5,000 towards the overall goal of $100,000! The boys are looking forward to it, and I’ve decided to join them myself!”
Dr. Samuel Finlayson, MD, PhD, is a Team Hydro co-founder who helps direct Team Hydro’s peer-reviewed research grant process in conjunction with the Hydrocephalus Association. “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 >10x 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.
You can support the Friars and the cause by making a tax-deductible donation at:
Stanford Varsity Men’s Water Polo Joins with Team Hydro for Hydrocephalus Research
SAN FRANCISCO – Members of the Stanford men’s water polo program will join with the Team Hydro Foundation for the 19th Alcatraz Swim for Hydrocephalus Research on August 19th, 2023. The Cardinal will help lead the charge into the icy-cold waters off the notorious Alcatraz Island as part of its rigorous preseason training program leading into the 2023 campaign.
Hydrocephalus is a neurological condition impacting more than one million people in the United States. Sadly, this devastating condition led to the passing of Kate Finlayson – the sister of former Stanford water polo alumni, Peter and Sam Finlayson. There is currently no cure for the condition, with the only treatments requiring brain surgery.
“My brother and I both played water polo at Stanford in the early 2000s, so to see the Stanford water polo family rally around the cause like this really means a lot,” said Peter Finlayson, Co-Founder of Team Hydro. “Our sister Kate loved swimming, but unfortunately her life was cut short by hydrocephalus. To see these young men willing to look beyond themselves and support the cause like this is inspiring!”
Brian Flacks, entering his second season as the Dunlevie Family Director of Men’s Water Polo, couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the year than by challenging the team to accomplish together something long-thought to be impossible, while also making a difference.
“Making an impact in the world is what Stanford is all about. When I learned about Team Hydro and the ground-breaking research they are enabling, I knew that it was something we had to be a part of,” said Flacks. “Our team is hoping to be able to raise at least $15,000 towards the overall goal of $100,000. The entire team is swimming, and the boys couldn’t be any more excited!”
Dr. Samuel Finlayson, MD, PhD, is another Stanford alum and Team Hydro co-founder who helps direct Team Hydro’s peer-reviewed research grant process in conjunction with the Hydrocephalus Association. “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 >10x 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,” Finlayson added.
You can support the Cardinal and the cause by making a tax-deductible donation at:
https://donate.teamhydro.org/swp
If you would like to join a future Alcatraz crossing or host an event with your team at a neighborhood pool, please contact Peter Finlayson at info@teamhydro.org.
Team Hydro Researcher Receives Two Grants Totaling $11.3M from the DoD
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!]
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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!