| |
Faculty of the RIRC
Oswald Steward, Ph.D.
osteward@uci.edu |
Oswald Steward, Ph.D.
Director & Professor, Reeve-Irvine Research Center |
Department:
Professor, Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Neurobiology and Behavior and Neurosurgery |
Description:
Dr. Steward's research focuses on how nerve cells create and maintain their connections with each other, how these "synapses" are modified by experience and injury, and what genes play a role in nerve cell regeneration, growth and function. A long-standing interest is in the mechanisms of mRNA sorting and transport in neurons, especially the targeting of mRNA to synaptic sites on dendrites. |
|
Aileen Anderson, Ph.D.
aja@uci.edu
|
Aileen Anderson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Reeve-Irvine Research Center |
Department:
Associate Professor, Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Anatomy and Neurobiology and Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Center |
Description:
Dr. Aileen Anderson investigates the role of inflammatory mechanisms in degeneration and regeneration in the injured central nervous system (CNS), in particular the spinal cord. Specifically, she focuses on a system that receives little attention, the complement system. Complement is a principal driver for multiple inflammatory mechanisms, and in recent studies, Dr. Anderson's lab has shown is activated after spinal cord injury. |
|
Brian Cummings, Ph.D.
cummings@uci.edu
|
Brian Cummings, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Reeve-Irvine Research Center |
Department:
Associate Professor, Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Anatomy and Neurobiology and Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Center |
Description:
Dr. Cummings investigates the mechanisms of recovery mediated by human stem cell transplantation after spinal cord injury. Neurodegeneration and regeneration represent critical basic science arenas for understanding basic biology as well as therapeutic targets for functional recovery. Thus, his lab is interested in factors affecting the survival, engraftment, migration, and differentiation of stem cells both in animal models and in cell culture models. |
|
Hans Keirstead, Ph.D.
hansk@uci.edu
|
Hans Keirstead, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Reeve-Irvine Research Center |
Department:
Associate Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology |
Description:
The focus of the Keirstead laboratory is the development of strategies to limit degeneration and enhance regeneration after spinal cord injury, of both axons and myelin. The laboratory is investigating strategies to reduce or eliminate the post-traumatic enlargement of spinal cord injury sites that normally occurs after traumatic injury. |
|
Leif A. Havton, M.D., Ph.D.
|
Leif A. Havton, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Vice Chair of Research, Reeve-Irvine Research Center |
Department:
Department of Anesthes & Perioperative Care |
Description:
Dr. Havton is a physician-scientist, who is working in the research fields of spinal cord injury and repair, pain and stem cell science. His laboratory performs translational research and has special interests in developing new treatments for cauda equine and conus medullaris forms of spinal cord injuries. These injuries affect the sacral portion of the spinal cord and associated lumbosacral nerve roots. His laboratory studies a combination of motor autonomic and sensory function, including neuropathic and visceral pain, in clinically relevant experimental models.
|
|
Gail Lewandowski, Ph.D.
|
Gail Lewandowski, Ph.D.
Project Scientist, Reeve-Irvine Research Center |
Description:
In collaboration with Dr. Oswald Steward Dr. Lewandoski works on the viral vector approach to enhance axon regeneration after spinal cord injury. The viral vector expresses a molecule that inhibits a gene called pTEN. In adults, pTEN is involved with the cellular process that restrains axon extension. The hope is that the viral vector therapy will inhibit pTEN expression and allow injured axons to extend and regenerate. Additionally, Dr. Lewandowski is studying the neuronal activity that occurs in the brains of rats during simple forepaw movement. Preliminarily, she has found that while these specific areas of the cortex are activated they may still have the potential to activate after a cervical spinal cord injury. Although more work needs to be done this evidence suggests the importance of mental practice and cortical stimulation after spinal cord injury.
|
|
|
|
|
