Innovator Award

The Innovator Award provides seed funding for bold, early-stage research ideas with the potential to transform hydrocephalus care and treatment. Awards support innovative, high-impact research to prevent, treat, and ultimately cure hydrocephalus.

Geographic Scope: International (based on 2025 recipients from UNC Charlotte, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Yale University, and University of Patras, Greece)

Funding Focus Areas:

• Less invasive treatments
• Better diagnostic tools
• Research improving quality of life for people living with hydrocephalus
• Early-stage, transformative research ideas
• Research aligned with Community Research Priorities, including:
  • Neuropsychology & Cognition
  • Non-Invasive Therapies

Award Levels:

• $25,000 for one year of support
• $50,000 for one year of support

Eligibility:

• Researchers and research teams
• University-affiliated researchers
• Hospital-based researchers

Recent Focus Areas (2025 cycle):

• Image-guided technologies for shunt maintenance
• Gene therapy and novel delivery methods
• Diagnostic capacity building in resource-limited settings
• Focused ultrasound for gene delivery
• Treatment of post-infectious hydrocephalus

Contact Information:

• Hydrocephalus Association
• 6903 Rockledge Drive Suite 740
• North Bethesda, MD 20817
• Phone: 301-202-3811 or +888-598-3789
• Email: info@hydroassoc.org

Background: The award is part of the HA Network for Discovery Science (HANDS) initiative. In 2016, the program focused on Posthemorrhagic Hydrocephalus research. The 2025 awards reflect the organization's commitment to supporting innovative research addressing critical gaps in hydrocephalus care.