Investigators
Chief Investigator
- Stuart Hodgetts
Associate Investigators
- Prof Alan Harvey
- Prof Gong Chen
Institutions
- Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science
- University of Western Australia
- Penn State University
- Jinan University
Project
Direct in vivo reprogramming of host astrocytes into functional neurons in the injured spinal cord
Year: 2019
Loss of neurons and networks after neurotrauma is considered irreversible, leading to significant functional impairment. Most therapies trialed for spinal cord injury (SCI) in humans have met with little or no success. The potential of generating new neurons to replace dead ones, and potentially initiate some form of circuit reconstruction, is a holy grail of restorative neurology, with obvious potential benefit to patients. In vivo reprogramming in the spinal cord is a new technology, but holds great promise. We are currently investigating this approach to treat spinal cord stroke. We will extend these studies to clinically relevant models of SCI.