Current Research

The injury, degeneration and immunology focus area aims to explore the shared mechanisms of tissue response to injury (trauma, ischemia, infection) and spontaneous degeneration (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/frontotemporal dementia, etc.). Focus is on understanding how genetic risk factors interact with environmental insults to create an integrated tissue response in cells of the nervous system (neurons, astrocytes, microglia, oligodendrocytes) and interact with the peripheral immune, gut/microbiome, and endocrine systems.

Labs: Anastassiou, Burda, Ho, Riera, Silm

The cognitive and systems neuroscience focus area aims to understand the neural basis of cognition in health and disease. Using electrophysiology, noninvasive imaging and other recording methods, the group interrogates how neurons function in isolation, within local assemblies and across brain networks to explain human cognition and behavior and improve recovery after injury. The group is partnered with clinical teams from the departments of neurosurgery and neurology, allowing them unique access to recording from human subjects undergoing epilepsy surgery or deep brain stimulation.

Labs: Anastassiou, Gulati, Hunt, Rutishauser

Neurodevelopment, Cancer and Repair focus area examines shared mechanisms between normal neuronal development and abnormal growth in the setting of cancer, and explores opportunities for harnessing these insights to enhance tissue repair after injury.

Labs: Breunig