CCM Grant Award

The Neurovascular Surgery Research team in the Department of Neurological Surgery received an award of grant entitled Preclinical Development of Gene Replacement Therapy Using Novel AV Vectors in Familial Cerebral Cavernous Malformations (CCM), in collaboration with researchers at Duke University (Department of Defense, Defense Health Program for the Technology/Therapeutic Development Award, Accelerated 3-year Award). Professor Issam Awad is the PI for the University of Chicago site, with his team charged with objective blinded assessment of the impact of gene resotration therapy at early and late stages of disease, on vascular lesion burden, and the development of plasma biomarkers to track the course of therapy. The university of Chicago team will receive $875,000 Total Costs over 3 years. This is a first-in-disease treatment of the gene defect, that is the root cause of familial CCM.