Thomas Arnold, MD

2025 Accelerator Award Recipient

A Role for Choline in Congenital Hydrocephalus.

Dr. Thomas Arnold is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, and his research focuses on understanding how a key nutrient called choline supports healthy brain development before birth. His team has discovered that mutations in two genes—FLVCR1 and FLVCR2—can disrupt the way choline is transported from the mother to the developing baby, which may lead to congenital hydrocephalus (CH). In this project, Dr. Arnold will track how choline moves into the fetal brain in both healthy and CH-affected mouse models, and test whether giving pregnant mice extra choline can prevent signs of hydrocephalus. This work could reveal a new biological cause of CH and point toward future non-surgical, nutrient-based treatment options for families.