VOGM Genetics Research Consortium

Thank you to the Aneurysm and AVM Foundation (TAAF) for supporting our study!☺️ The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation

The Vein of Galen Malformation Genetics Research Consortium (VOGM-GRC) is a multi-institutional, international consortium of pediatric neurosurgeons, neurointerventionalists, neurologists, neurointensivists, geneticists, and molecular biologists. Our aim is to use orthogonal approaches to understand the genetic basis of VOGM. Our study’s principal investigators, Dr. Andrew Hale, a neurosurgery resident, and Dr. Jesse Jones, a neuroradiologist, both work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and are dedicated to supporting and helping patients with VOGM as we look for more answers that help us better treat and provide quality care.

We are looking for more participants and ways to get connected to more families with VOGM. Here is a link below that lists ways to participate in the study:

Ways to Participate Sign Up to participate in the study There will be multiple ways for centers to participate in the VOGM-GRC:

Allow us to introduce Dr. Andrew Hale, one of the principal investigators of our study. Dr. Hale is currently undertaking his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He holds both undergraduate and master’s degrees in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University, where he focused on elucidating the roles of transcription factor KLF4 in tumor angiogenesis and Notch signaling, under the guidance of Mukesh K. Jain, M.D., and Anne Hamik M.D., Ph.D. Following this, he pursued his medical and doctoral degrees through the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). Under the mentorship of John D. York, Ph.D., he conducted extensive research utilizing biochemical, molecular, mouse-model, and genetic methodologies to investigate the functions of lithium-sensitive phosphatases in cell signaling, metabolism, and disease.

Currently, Dr. Hale's research interests encompass quantitative human genetics and functional genomics, employing multi-omic approaches to comprehend the genetic underpinnings of conditions such as hydrocephalus, infectious diseases, intracerebral aneurysm formation and rupture, congenital cerebrovascular disorders, and epilepsy. His overall research goal is to expand the use of genetic and molecular information in the care of pediatric neurosurgical patients.

You can read more about Dr. Hale in the following link: https://www.uab.edu/medicine/neurosurgery/education/residency/current-residents/pgy-3/hale-andrew-t-m-d-ph-d