Background

Hometown
Hudson, OH

Undergraduate School
Case Western Reserve University
Major: Biochemistry

Medical School
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
(Medical Scientist Training Program; PhD - Biochemistry)

Bio

Andrew T. Hale M.D., Ph.D., is a neurosurgery resident at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned both his bachelors and master’s degrees in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH where he studied the role of transcription factor KLF4 in tumor angiogenesis and Notch signaling. He then matriculated into the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), under a full-tuition scholarship, to earn both his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Hale earned his Ph.D. under the tutelage of John D. York, Ph.D., a Howard Hughes investigator, where he applied biochemical, molecular, mouse-model and genetic approaches to study the roles of lithium-sensitive phosphatases in cell-signaling and disease. He was supported by a NIH F30 during this time. He then pursued a brief post-doctoral fellowship in human genetics and functional genomics at Vanderbilt, where he became interested in elucidating the genetic basis of neurosurgical conditions. He then matched into neurosurgery residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Hale is currently completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Cape Town Neuroscience Institute, led by Graham Fieggen, where he is using brain organoids to understand the mechanistic basis of both genetic and acquired forms of hydrocephalus. He is also mentored by and closely collaborates with Dr. Kris Kahle at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School to understand the genetic and mechanistic basis of neurosurgical conditions. Dr. Hale's clinical interests include pediatrics, cerebrovascular, epilepsy, and global neurosurgery. His overall goal is to expand the use of genetic and molecular information in the care of pediatric neurosurgical patients. Beyond work, he enjoys traveling, wildlife conservation, fly-fishing, and spending time with his wife, Halley.

Honors and Awards:

• 2023 Honorable Mention, Academy Award, American Academy of Neurological Surgery Annual Meeting
• 2023 Neurosurgery Top Cerebrovascular Paper of the Year, ‘Multi-national genome-wide association study and functional genomics analysis implicates decreased SIRT3 expression underlying intracranial aneurysm risk’
• 2023 Beverly C. Walters, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FANS Academic Achievement Award, UAB Department of Neurosurgery
• 2022 Richard B. Morawetz Research Prize, 39th Annual Garber Galbraith Scientific Symposium, UAB Department of Neurosurgery
• 2022 Top Abstract Award, International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery Annual Meetong, 'Genetically-determined alterations in inflammation and infection-associated genes causes hydrocephalus in patients of African Ancestry'
• 2022 Duke Samson Award for Best Clinical Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery Abstract, Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, 'Integrative genomics implicates decreased FDG6 expression underlying risk of intracranial aneurysm rupture'
• 2022 American Academy of Neurological Surgery Annual Meeting Invited Guest, Resident Abstract presenter, 'Multi-omics analysis elucidates the genetic basis of hydrocephalus'
• 2022 AANS Cerebrovascular (CV) Section Best Clinical Scientific Paper Abstract Award for "Multi-national genome-wide association study and functional genomics analysis implicates decreased SIRT3 expression underlying intracranial aneurysm risk."
• 2021 Shulman Award for Best Overall Paper at the 50th Annual AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery, ‘Multi-omics analysis elucidates the genetic basis of hydrocephalus’
• 2021 Griffith R. Harsh III Research Prize, 38th Annual Garber Galbraith Scientific Symposium, UAB Department of Neurosurgery
• 2021 Dean’s Award for Research Achievement, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• 2021 John G. Coniglio Prize for Outstanding Graduating Medical Student in Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• 2018 - 2021 NIH F30 NRSA Fellowship
• 2020 Top abstract selected for Scientific Showcase, AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery
• 2020 Invited Speaker, Keystone Symposia, Cerebral Fluid Flow & Function: Lymphatics, Glymphatics, and the Choroid Plexus
• 2019 Top poster award, AANS/CNS Section on Pediatric Neurological Surgery
• 2019 August McCravey Basic Science Award, Southern Neurosurgical Society; *1st medical student to receive this award*
• 2018 Fred Epstein Award, International Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery
• 2014 - 2021 Full-tuition scholarship, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (MD/PhD program)
• 2011 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Fellowship
• 2011 Phi Beta Kappa Research Award
• 2008 – 2012 Dean’s List and/or Deans High Honors List at Case Western Reserve University

Grants:

• 2023-2025 National Institutes of Health, NINDS R21, "Understanding the mechanisms of congenital hydrocephalus using genomic sequencing approaches." Role: Investigator; Total Award: $390,915 
  
• 2024 Robert J. Dempsey, M.D., Cerebrovascular Research Award, AANS/CNS Section on Cerebrovascular Surgery, "Elucidating the genetic basis of vein of Galen Malformation." Role: PI; Total Award: $15,000
• 2023-2025 Kaul Pediatric Research Institute (KPRI), Children's of Alabama, "Endoluminal biopsy illuminates the genetic basis vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation in children of African ancestry." Role: Co-PI; Total Award: $70,000
• 2023 Joe Niekro Foundation Research Grant, "Endoluminal biopsy illuminates the genetics basis of vein of Galen malformation." Role: PI; Total Award: $20,000
• 2023 Balt Group, Cerebrovascular Devices, USA Endoluminal biopsy illuminates the genetic basis of Vein of Galen Malformation; Role: Co-Investigator; Total Award: $25,000
• 2023 Medtronic External Research Program, Cerebrovascular Devices, USA Endoluminal biopsy illuminates the genetic basis of Vein of Galen Malformation; Role: Co-Investigator; Total Award: $10,000
• 2022 The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation (TAAF), "Multi-onmics analysis elucidates the genetic basis of Vein of Galen Malformation." Role: PI; Total Award: $25,000
• 2022 University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, "Multi-onmics analysis elucidates the genetic basis of Vein Galen Malformation." Role: PI; Total Award: $5,000