International Stroke Conference Features UCSF Experts

Combining clinical, translational and basic research, the meeting brought together a network of leading professionals who are working to better understand stroke pathophysiology, develop effective therapies and explore brain health and stroke recovery. Clinicians discussed the best ways to diagnose and treat patients, as well as the latest cutting-edge benchtop discoveries and how to translate them into practice.

This year’s program featured awards, presentations and updates on new and late-breaking data, including diagnostic developments by stroke experts from the UCSF Neuro/Stroke program.

Here are some highlights:

Heather Fullerton, MD, MAS, pediatric vascular neurologist and UCSF professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, has been named as the recipient of the 2025 Ralph L. Sacco Outstanding Stroke Research Mentor Award given by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The award recognizes her outstanding achievements in mentoring future generations of researchers in the field of cerebrovascular disease. Award recipients are individuals who have actively engaged in sustained efforts aimed at the mentoring of trainees in the field of stroke.

Fullerton is chief of the UCSF Division of Child Neurology and medical director of the UCSF Benioff Pediatric Brain Center. She established and directs the UCSF Pediatric Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease Center. She is also the director and training director of the UCSF Center of Excellence in Hemorrhagic Stroke Research.

She has led a robust research program in childhood stroke with continuous grant funding from the NIH, American Heart Association and Thrasher Research Foundation. Fullerton's research projects include identifying risk factors for recurrent childhood stroke, studying blood vessel abnormalities in children with stroke and determining whether infection plays a role in childhood stroke. Since 2009, she has been the principal investigator of the NIH-funded prospective international study, the Vascular Effects of Infection in Pediatric Stroke (VIPS). The original VIPS study, completed in 2016, enrolled more than 700 children at 37 hospitals worldwide and established that common childhood infections, particularly herpesviruses, can trigger arterial ischemic stroke.

On Thursday, Feb. 6, she presented the “2025 ISC Ralph L Sacco Outstanding Stroke Research Mentor Award Lecture: Mentoring to Propel Progress in Pediatric Stroke” during the Main Event ISC Invited Symposium.

Wednesday, Feb. 5

Luis Savastano, MD, PhD, a vascular and endovascular neurosurgeon and UCSF assistant professor of Neurological Surgery presented “First-in-Human Endovascular Drainage of Non-Acute Subdural-Hematomas and Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization” during the oral abstract session “Acute Treatment: Systemic Thrombolysis and Cerebroprotection Oral Abstracts I.” View the abstract

This session covered original research submitted as abstracts in the Acute Treatment: Systemic Thrombolysis and Cerebroprotection category and is moderated by UCSF’s Daniel L. Cooke, MD, a neurointerventional radiologist and UCSF professor of Neuro- Interventional Radiology.

Mengqi Zhang, MD, a postdoctoral scholar in the UCSF Department of Neurology, presented “Neuroinflammatory Mechanisms Linking Metabolic Syndrome with Vascular Cognitive Impairment” during the moderated digital poster abstract session “Brain Health Moderated Digital Posters.”

Zheng and her collaborators investigated the potential role of PCSK9, a key regulator of cholesterol metabolism in vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). They hypothesized that PCSK9 overexpression, exacerbated by a high-fat diet (HFD), would promote neurovascular inflammation and recapitulate VCID pathology. Their study demonstrates that metabolic syndrome induced by PCSK9 overexpression and HFD synergistically converge upon neuroinflammatory mediators to recapitulate VCID pathology. View the abstract

Nicole Rosendale, MD, a hospitalist and UCSF associate professor of Neurology, presented “Stroke Risk in Transfeminine People” during the ISC Invited Symposium “The Paola De Rango Session: Understudied Factors Contributing to Disparities in Stroke Risk and Outcomes in Women Across the Continuum of Disease and Care.”

For gender-affirming hormone therapies (GAHT), evolving data indicate an elevated risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease associated with GAHT, a critical area to understand for the treatment of individuals using hormone therapies.

Shantel Weinsheimer, PhD, UCSF assistant professor of Anesthesia, presented “Circulating Plasma Biomarkers Associated with Familial Cerebral Cavernous Malformation, Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia and Sturge-Weber Syndrome” during the moderated digital poster abstract session “Risk Factors and Prevention Moderated Poster Tour.”

This Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium (BVMC) study aimed to identify circulating inflammatory and angiogenic proteins that associate with familial Cerebral Cavernous Malformation (FCCM), Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), or Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS). The researchers identified circulating plasma biomarkers associated with FCCM, HHT and SWS. View the abstract

Mona Asghariahmadabad, UCSF postdoctoral research fellow in Radiology, presented

“Oxygen Extraction Fraction on Baseline MRI Predicts Infarction Growth in Successfully Recanalized Patients” during the Moderated Digital Poster Abstract Session “Imaging Moderated Poster Tour.”

Despite recent advances in endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), continued infarct growth and poor functional outcome has been reported in 20% to 50% of patients despite successful reperfusion. Oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) has shown promise as a method to evaluate ischemic tissue viability and can now be quantified from dynamic-susceptibility-contrast (DSC) perfusion MRI. The study aimed to determine the association of OEF alterations on pretreatment DSC perfusion MRI with infarct growth among stroke patients who achieved successful reperfusion. View the abstract

Hua Su, MD, UCSF professor of Anesthesia, presented “Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Genes into Brain Endothelial Cells for Treating Brain AVMs” during the poster abstract session “Aneurysms and Vascular Malformations Posters.”

Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) can cause life-threatening intracranial hemorrhage. Mutation of activin receptor-like kinase 1 (Alk1) or endoglin (ENG) causes a familiar form of bAVM. Adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) can be engineered to target different cells. Su and her colleagues hypothesized that by screening engineered AAV vectors, an AAV variant could be identified that can transduce brain ECs specifically in mice. Their findings indicate this vector can be used for developing gene therapies to treat patients with sporadic bAVMs. View the abstract

Thursday, Feb. 6

Ethan Winkler, MD, PhD, a vascular and endovascular neurosurgeon and UCSF assistant professor of Neurological Surgery, presented “Dolichoectatic Aneurysms: A Distinct Phenotype with Complex Management Challenges” during the ISC Invited Symposium, “Advancing the Understanding of Dolichoectasia: Current Status and Future Directions.”

This symposium focused on dolichoectasia, a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by the abnormal dilation and elongation of brain arteries and implicated in both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. This symposium explored various clinical aspects of this cerebrovascular disorder and highlight recent research advancements in this field. Winkler discussed extreme phenotypes of dolichoectatic aneurysms requiring intervention.

He was also moderator for the moderated poster session “Aneurysms and Vascular Malformations and Large Vessel Disease from Arteries to Veins (Non-Acute Treatment).”

Kimberly Annette Lewis, PhD, UCSF postdoctoral scholar in Physiological Nursing, presented “Xylitol, Xylose and MicroRNAs Associated with Thrombosis and the Clotting Cascade in a Multi-Omics Cross-Sectional Study of Adults at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes and Stroke” during the poster abstract session “Risk Factors and Prevention Posters.”

Xylitol, a sugar alcohol, has been linked to increased thrombosis and risk of stroke and heart attack. MicroRNAs (miRs) have been associated with thrombosis and the blood clotting cascade and can provide additional insight about pathogenesis or biomarkers to help establish safe dietary intake guidelines. This study sought to measure these associations in a sample of adults with obesity and metabolic syndrome. View the abstract

Friday, Feb. 7

Heather J Fullerton, MD, MAS, pediatric vascular neurologist and UCSF professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, presented “The Evolution of Focal Cerebral Arteriopathy (FCA) Treatment and Outcomes from 2010 to 2022: Results of the VIPS Studies” during the  abstract session “Pediatric Cerebrovascular Disease Oral Abstracts.”

The most common cause of arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) in previously healthy children, focal cerebral arteriopathy (FCA) can progress rapidly over days with worsening brain injury. A 2017 retrospective study of corticosteroid treatment for FCA changed practice at many pediatric stroke centers. To assess its impact, Fullerton and her colleagues compared FCA treatment rates and outcomes in FCA cohorts from the two vascular effects of infection in pediatric stroke (VIPS) studies. View the abstract

Christine Fox, MD, MAS, a pediatric vascular neurologist and UCSF professor of Neurology, presented “Discoveries at Clinical Trial/observational Studies Levels” during the ISC Invited Symposium “Scientific Advances from the AHA/Bugher Centers of Excellence in Hemorrhagic Stroke Research.” There were three presentations followed by a panel discussion that focused on future directions and unanswered questions.

UCSF’s Nerissa Ko, MD, MAS, a neurointensivist and UCSF professor of Neurology served as moderator of this session.

A complete listing of UCSF authors can be found in ISC abstracts.