Neurotrauma and psychiatric impairment affect the quality of life of millions of people worldwide.
Current treatment options to reduce secondary damage following brain and spinal cord injuries are limited, leaving many people with residual impairment. Individuals affected by psychiatric illness face similar challenges.
Our work aims to address these treatment gaps by evaluating the efficacy of novel interventions in rodent models (mice and rats). We are particularly interested in understanding how the neuro-immune reflex can be leveraged to promote functional recovery. Although we study rodents, we are always thinking about clinical relevance and translation. Our work is both basic and translational. This means that we seek to understand the utility and underlying mechanism of treatment. This approach allows us to assess not only if a particular treatment is effective, but how it might work. We employ traditional biomedical laboratory methods and novel techniques to answer our research questions.
We assess immune changes with tools such as multiplex immunoassays, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry. Our neurobehavioral core is equipped with automated software that allows us to evaluate clinically-relevant domains of impairment, including hyperarousal, fear learning, motor function, cognition, and depressive- and anxiety-like symptoms. Our lab is also equipped with cutting-edge tools to evaluate neuroinflammatory consequences in target brain regions using whole slide immunofluorescent images.
Ongoing work
We are currently evaluating the utility of several tools that target the neuro-immune reflex, including neuromodulation (vagus nerve stimulation), immunotherapy, and novel pharmacotherapy. Our research models include experimental PTSD, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury. We are particularly interested in blast-related brain injuries that can occur after exposure to an improvised explosive device.
Thank you to our past and present sponsors!
