Neuropharmacology and Brain injury

About us

We are interested in studying what happens to the brain in response to an acute injury, such as a stroke or perinatal asphyxia). The broad research focus of the lab is to examine cellular and molecular mechanisms that may cause or prevent brain cell death resulting from an acute injury. Drugs with neuroprotective potential are routinely investigated in cell lines, brain tissue cultures and in vivo rat injury models as part of a search for new therapeutic strategies for acute brain injuries. Because tissue hypoxia often occurs after a brain insult, we are interested in learning how hypoxia-inducible proteins (hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), erythropoietin, vascular endothelial growth factor, glucose transporters) are involved in injury and repair processes of the brain.