| Affiliations: | |
| Project Leader: | Reid, Shelby shelbykrr@tamu.edu Biology |
| Faculty Mentor: | McCreedy, Dylan, Ph.D. |
| Meeting Times: | TBA |
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Team Size:
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4 |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Students will gain experience in science communication through presentation of their findings in poster or oral form at local research symposiums and at our weekly meetings as a lab. Potential co-authorship on publications is possible, depending on involvement. Students will gain experience in a variety of biological techniques in a friendly, collaborative environment.
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Team Needs:
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Students will work with rodent models of spinal cord injury and use behavioral, molecular, and image analysis techniques to analyze data. Basic understanding of biology is required with preference given to students interested in immunology and/or neuroscience. Online training through CITI program/traintraq and animal handling in-person training through the comparative medicine program will be required after joining. Our lab policy is 10 hr/week in the lab for undergraduates. |
| Description | After a spinal cord injury (SCI), a broad inflammatory reaction occurs that causes further damage to the already injured tissue and worsens recovery. We’re interested in how neutrophils (the most common circulating white blood cell in humans) influence inflammation, tissue damage, and recovery of motor function after SCI. Utilizing pharmacologic and genetic approaches in a mouse model of injury, we seek to characterize the role that neutrophils and their specific effector functions play in spinal cord injury and identify potential avenues of treatment that specifically target their harmful inflammatory effects. |