Neurobiology of CNS Injury and Repair T32

Current Trainees

Julian Mory

Julian’s project in the Venditto lab focuses on developing triazine-based lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to enhance mRNA delivery for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. His research addresses critical challenges in mRNA therapeutic delivery, including achieving high transfection efficiency and mitigating neuroinflammation associated with cationic lipids. The project utilizes combinatorial solid-phase synthesis to create a diverse library of triazine-based lipids, aiming to optimize their structural properties for mRNA encapsulation, cellular uptake, and endosomal escape. Key objectives include evaluating transgene expression in human monocytes, elucidating structure-activity relationships governing endocytosis and endosomal escape, and assessing the expression and neuroprotective effects of Pituitary Adeniylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) mRNA in SH-SY5Y neuronal cells. This innovative approach aims to harness PACAP’s anti-inflammatory and neurotrophic properties, offering a promising strategy for the treatment of CNS injury or neurodegenerative diseases.

Katherine Cotter

Katherine's project is focusing on the role of B cells in the brain after stroke. She is primarily focused on the B cells that migrate into the hippocampus and other regions relating to cognitive function, looking at if these B cells are beneficial and/or detrimental to cognitive function in both the acute and chronic phase after stroke in aged animals. She is also looking at the impact of pre-stroke exercise on cognitive decline after stroke in aged animals.

Jessica Gebhardt

Hippocampal associated learning and memory deficits are one of the most reported symptoms following a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and millions of individuals in the U.S. can experience these deficits years after the initial injury. Within the hippocampus, the neurogenic niche of the dentate gyrus is one of only two regions in the brain in which neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons, occurs throughout adulthood. These new neurons are vital for cognitive functions such as learning and memory, as well as mood regulation. Jessica’s project in the Saatman Lab seeks to understand the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on neuronal proliferation, development, and maturation of adult-born neurons within this region and to evaluate if chronic changes in neurogenesis are related to cellular senescence. Cellular senescence, which is understood as a non-replicative premature aging phenotype, may be increased or accelerated following injury and may negatively influence nearby cells. Jessica’s research aims to provide new insights into how senescence might influence neurogenesis and cognition in the weeks to months following a TBI.

Previous Trainees

Olivia Kalimon

Years: 2021-2023

Department(s): Neuroscience & Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center

Current Position: Doctorate Student

Summary of research: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global health concern that affects millions of individuals each year, however, the inclusion of females in TBI research is still limited. It was recently reported in a large percentage of human and animal studies including both sexes, that females had improved outcomes over their male counterparts after severe TBI. The mechanism behind this sex difference remains to be elucidated, although mitochondria may be playing a significant role. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a key hallmark of TBI and has been shown to be worse in males compared to females. During her time in the Sullivan Lab, Olivia has been characterizing sex differences in mitochondrial dysfunction using state-of-the-art molecular and biochemical techniques, which was recently published in Neurotrauma Reports. Olivia is also interested in the role that estrogen may have on these processes after TBI, as well as the use of a novel mitochondrial-targeted therapeutic to relieve both mitochondrial and cognitive impairments after brain injury.

Hannah Williams

The hippocampus is particularly vulnerable to traumatic brain injury (TBI) and one of two regions in the brain capable of neurogenesis throughout adulthood. Neural progenitor cells located in the dentate gyrus proliferate in response to TBI leading to partial recovery. However, the long-term fate of neurons born after TBI is poorly understood. Hannah’s project aims to better understand the effects of trauma on long-term hippocampal neurogenesis by using a transgenic reporter mouse to label and track neural progenitor cells born after injury. Hannah’s project also seeks to establish the efficacy of a clinically relevant intranasal dosing paradigm of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) to improve posttraumatic hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function after TBI.

Olivia Wireman (Bodart)

Olivia’s project in the Gensel lab seeks to address bowel dysfunction after spinal cord injury (SCI), an urgent concern of the spinal cord injured population. Constipation is a common comorbidity associated with spinal cord injury, leading to episodes of autonomic dysreflexia, impaction, and even hospitalization. Olivia’s work seeks to understand the etiology of this condition at the level of the colon, utilizing well-established histological and molecular techniques in the Gensel Lab to branch into this new area of study. The goal of this study is to characterize the effect of SCI on the colon and identify targets to ameliorate this dysfunction.