Every year, more researchers apply to The Bee Foundation, and every year their work gets sharper, bolder, and harder to choose between. That’s a wonderful problem to have.
This year we received 31 applications, the most in our history. And because of you, our supporters, we’re able to match that ambition. In 2026, The Bee Foundation is funding six Preventative Research Grant projects, also a new record.
Before we introduce this year’s grantees, we want to pause and thank everyone who applied. Every application represents years of training, a real idea, and a genuine belief that brain aneurysms are preventable. The fact that we had 31 of those this year, more than ever before, tells us something important: the community working to solve this disease is growing, and it’s getting stronger. Looking back over 12 years of this program, that’s exactly the kind of momentum we set out to build.
Meet the 2026 TBF Preventative Research Program Grantees
Please join us in congratulating this year’s six grantees:
Daryl Goldman, MD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
Project Title:Â Leveraging artificial intelligence to improve equitable detection and prevention of ruptured cerebral aneurysms
Grant Title: The 2026 TBF Brittany McCarthy Research Grant
Amol Mehta, MD
Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
Project Title: Circulating microRNA biomarkers for intracranial aneurysm wall instability: correlation with high-resolution vessel wall imaging
Grant Title: The 2026 TBF Katelyn Kelly Memorial Research Grant
Peyton Nisson, MD
Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZÂ
Project Title: Adipose-derived estrogen and the obesity paradox in intracranial aneurysms: a causal test in postmenopausal mice
Grant Title: The 2026 TBF Misha Patel Memorial Research Grant
Pious Patel, MD
Thomas Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia, PAÂ
Project Title: A prospective pipeline for genotype-driven intracranial aneurysm detection
Grant Title: The 2026 TBF Bharati Bhatt Memorial Research Grant
Ethan Winkler, MD
University of California, San FranciscoÂ
Project Title: Decoding the cellular and spatial genomic determinants of human brain aneurysm instability
Grant Title: The 2026 TBF Yezzi Family Research Grant
Zhen Xu, PhD
McGovern Medical School, UTHealth Houston, Houston, TX
Project Title: Endothelial TSPAN5 regulates barrier integrity in intracranial aneurysms
Grant Title: The 2026 TBF Matthew Friedman Memorial Foundation Research Grant
Six researchers, six institutions, six new angles on a disease we’re determined to prevent. We couldn’t be more excited to see where this work leads. Stay tuned over the coming months as we introduce each researcher and dig into their projects in more depth.
Want to meet them in person?Â
Our 2026 grantees will be at the HONEYBASH Gala on October 17th at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. It’s your chance to hear directly from the researchers your support is funding. Buy your tickets now.
Thank You!
And to everyone who gave, fundraised, or spread the word this year – this is what your support made possible. Thank you.
