Dr. Rosalind Lai Named a CTSI K Scholar for Aneurysm Research
UB Neurosurgery (UBNS) neurosurgeon and assistant professor Dr. Rosalind Lai, MD, has been selected as a CTSI K Scholar through UB’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Mentored Career Development Award Program. The award recognizes Dr. Lai’s work in sex differences in intracranial aneurysms and will help fund further research in this field.
Investigating Sex Differences in Intracranial Aneurysms
Dr. Lai has actively contributed to research on cerebral aneurysms and women’s health throughout the past several years. In 2023, she received a Young Investigator Grant from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Foundation for her explorations into why women have a higher rate of aneurysms than men. She has also been the recipient of the Bee Foundation Aneurysm Award, the Society of NeuroInterventional Joe Niekro Grant, and the Missy Foundation Research Grant for her work in cerebrovascular research.
As Dr. Lai explains, “women are affected by many inflammatory diseases more often than men. Hormones explain part of this difference, but not all of it.” With this new grant from the CTSI, Dr. Lai and her colleagues can expand their investigations into this discrepancy, potentially unlocking new insights into how aneurysms develop and how medical professionals can prevent and treat them.
UB’s CTSI K Scholar Program is meant to support faculty pursuing careers in biomedical research. By protecting dedicated research time and funding work in these areas, the program helps scholars like Dr. Lai advance their careers as researchers and contribute to medical advancement.
The award will provide the support necessary for Dr. Lai and her collaborators to generate preliminary data that will lead to larger, multi-center studies further down the line. Dr. Lai hopes the resulting insights will help researchers identify specific genes and biological differences that may contribute to women’s increased vascular disease risk.
The CTSI K Scholar grant is NIH-funded and a highly competitive award. This recognition speaks to the importance and promise of Dr. Lai’s research, which could provide crucial information to help medical professionals improve prevention and treatment strategies for women.
UBNS at the Forefront of Neurovascular Research
This honor from the CTSI K Scholar Program is the latest accomplishment among the UB Neurosurgery team showcasing the institution’s commitment to medical innovation and cutting-edge research. By fostering an environment of continuous advancement, UBNS hopes to drive improvements in neurovascular care across all populations.
