Prajwal Ciryam MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in Neurology and the Program in Trauma at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he is an attending neurointensivist. His laboratory studies how the immune system responds to acute brain injury, including the rupture of cerebral aneurysms. He has received support from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, the Neurocritical Care Society, and the Passano Foundation. He received a B.A. in Biological Sciences in the Honors Program for Medical Education at Northwestern University. He earned an MD and PhD (Neuroscience) through Northwestern’s NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program. He concurrently received a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and St John’s College Benefactors Scholar. He completed a medical internship and residency in Neurology at Columbia University, as well as a fellowship in Neurocritical Care at Columbia and Cornell.

Please tell us your background, where you are from, schooling, etc.

I was born in southern India and grew up in eastern North Carolina. I received a B.A. in Biological Sciences in the Honors Program for Medical Education at Northwestern University. I earned an MD and PhD (Neuroscience) through Northwestern’s NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program. I concurrently received a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge, where I was a Fulbright Scholar and St John’s College Benefactors Scholar. I completed a medical internship and residency in Neurology at Columbia University, as well as a fellowship in Neurocritical Care at Columbia and Cornell.

What led you to become involved with brain aneurysm research?

I first met patients who had suffered aneurysm ruptures as a junior resident in the neurological intensive care unit at Columbia University. I learned the stakes of this disease: Patients are terribly sick, at risk to get worse, but with intensive monitoring and aggressive care, they can recover. The moments that we acted fast to head off or reverse neurological decline in patients who had had aneurysm ruptures led me to become a neurointensivist. The more that I learned about the disease, though, the clearer it became that our tools for treating it were not sufficient. In particular, I saw an opportunity to understand and redirect the immune system to promote recovery.

In the simplest terms, what is the purpose of your project?

We have two goals. First, we want to figure out what immune cells enter the brain after an aneurysm ruptures. Second, we want to know whether certain types of those immune cells are related to whether a patient develops additional brain injury.

In the simplest terms, what do you hope will change through your research findings?

Our hope is to identify cells that we can target to prevent additional brain injury after an aneurysm rupture.

Why is the funding you are receiving through the Brain Aneurysm Foundation so important?

Funding from the Brain Aneurysm Foundation will enable us to perform the crucial first experiments to identify the complex immune response to aneurysm rupture using cutting-edge genetic tools. We believe this will create an enormous opportunity for new diagnostics and therapeutics.