Brain Restoration Alliance in Neurodegeneration (BRAIN)
Principal Investigator
Research Priority Area
- Neuroscience
How to Join
Please contact Jaimie Hixson with your interest. We welcome individuals with an interest in repairing the nervous system.
Summary
The human body has enormous healing powers, yet damage to nerve cells caused by accident or neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease might lead to irreversible scarring and even death of the cells, resulting in permanent weakness and difficulty in moving limbs.
With the support of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Alliance Research Initiative, the Brain Restoration Alliance in Neurodegeneration (BRAIN) will investigate a process to heal damaged nerve cells. The team’s research will focus on the Schwann cells that surround all nerve fibers in the peripheral nervous system (outside the brain and the spinal cord) and form myelin sheaths around the nerve fibers to protect them. Schwann cells support the repair and growth of damaged axons. There is a possibility that Schwann cell activity could be used to repair damaged nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
The lead principal investigator of BRAIN is Craig van Horne, MD, professor in the department of neurosurgery. Dr. van Horne is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in neurosurgery, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. His research focuses on innovative surgical treatment strategies for Parkinson’s disease.
Randal Voss, PhD, professor in the department of neuroscience, brings regenerative biology expertise to the alliance. He uses genetic, genomic, and developmental approaches to discover how salamanders regenerate whole organs, including their limbs and spinal cord. He also brings expertise in changes in cellular phenotypes, including Schwann cells, the focus of BRAIN research. Dr. van Horne and Greg Gerhardt, PhD, professor in the department of neuroscience, are engaged in translational and clinical research projects and trials focusing on neurodegenerative disorders. Both have studied using the regenerative properties of Schwann cells as a form of therapy for injured regions of the central nervous system.
BRAIN will form an alliance between the two laboratories currently studying nerve regeneration. The Dr. Gerhardt and Dr. van Horne labs study peripheral nerve grafts containing repaired Schwann cells to treat Parkinson’s disease. The Voss lab is researching limb regeneration in the axolotl, a variety of salamander. Researchers in both labs plan to collaborate on Schwann cell activity and nerve regeneration with the overall goal of repairing damage in brains of people with Parkinson’s disease.
Alliance Members
- Tarek Ali, MD, Fellow – Department of Neurology
- Nour Al Haj Baddar, PhD – Post-doc, Department of Neuroscience
- Monica Chau, PhD, Assistant Professor – Department of Neurosurgery
- Varun Dwaraka, PhD Candidate – College of Arts and Sciences
- Riham El Khouli, MD, PhD, Associate Professor – Department of Radiology
- Geetanjali Gera, PhD, PT, Assistant Professor – College of Health Sciences
- Greg Gerhardt, PhD, Professor – Department of Neuroscience
- Richard Grondin, PhD, Associate Professor – Department of Neuroscience
- Zain Guduru, MD, Assistant Professor – Department of Neurology
- Julie Gurwell, PhD, Associate Professor – Department of Neurology
- Jordan Harp, PhD, Assistant Professor – Department of Neurology
- Craig van Horne, MD, PhD, Professor – Department of Neurosurgery
- Dana Lykins, PT, DPT – College of Health Sciences
- David Murrugarra, PhD, Associate Professor – College of Arts and Sciences
- George Quintero, PhD, Assistant Professor– Department of Neuroscience
- Jill Roberts, PhD, Assistant Professor – Department of Neurosurgery
- Frederick Schmitt, PhD, Professor – Department of Neurology
- John Slevin, MD, Professor – Department of Neurology
- Jeramiah Smith, PhD, Associate Professor – College of Arts and Sciences
- Randal Voss, PhD, Professor – Department of Neuroscience
- Tritia Yamasaki, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor – Department of Neurology
- David Yurek, PhD, Professor – Department of Neurosurgery
- Zhiming Zhang, MD, Associate Professor – Department of Neuroscience