| Affiliations: | Neuroscience Research Leadership |
| Project Leader: | Ashley Tucker ashtuck589@tamu.edu Medical Physiology |
| Faculty Mentor: | Jennifer Dulin, Ph.D |
|
Meeting Times:
|
T 5:30-6:30PM |
|
Team Size:
|
3
|
| Open Spots: | 0 |
|
Special Opportunities:
|
Students will have the opportunity to develop skills such as: tissue processing, histology, immunohistochemistry, image analysis, science communication, and science writing. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to present findings at local conferences and symposia, and, based on the contribution, earn co-authorship on a peer-reviewed publication
|
|
Team Needs:
|
Required: Ability to collaborate and communicate in a fast-paced team setting. Ability to work 10 hours per week in lab. Online training through CITI program/TrainTraq will be required after joining. Preferred: Basic knowledge of biology and neuroscience, and enthusiasm for finding treatments for neurological trauma and neurodegenerative diseases. Please send resume and class schedule when applying for the position |
|
Description:
|
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a traumatic and life-altering event that frequently results in the loss of voluntary motor function after injury. Currently, there are no clinically effective treatments that can improve locomotor function after SCI. Neural progenitor cells (a type of neural stem cell) are a promising potential therapy for SCI, due to their ability to mature into spinal cord neurons and act as a neuronal relays between surviving host neurons that are located rostral and caudal to the injury site. In order to repair locomotor circuitry following a traumatic spinal cord injury using NPCs, it is first critical to determine the types of transplanted NPC-derived neurons that establish connections with motor neurons and their function in modulating locomotor recovery. This project addresses this question by using Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) to activate specific populations of NPC-derived neurons that we have identified to connect to motor neurons. Upon activation we will record behavior through the Behavior Biomarker Scale (BBS), which uses machine learning technology to characterize different behaviors exhibited in our rodent model. Ultimately, these findings provide an important mechanism that will inform future work on development of cell-based therapies to reproducibly restore locomotor function after spinal cord injury |