Shaun Carlson, Ph.D. (Research Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Clinical and Translational Science Institute [CTSI], and Safar Center for Resuscitation Research Associate Director), was awarded his first R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke titled “Synaptic Vesicular Alterations after Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).” Together with Co-Investigators Mark Schurdak, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Computational and Systems Biology) and Andrew Stern, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Computational and Systems Biology) in the Drug Discovery Institute, and C. Edward Dixon, Ph.D. (Professor of Neurological Surgery and Safar Center Associate Director), he will lead a team to study the effect of TBI on intrasynaptic alterations impacting neurotransmission after TBI.
The proposed aims of this grant are to determine the impact of TBI on intrasynaptic vesicular alterations, test the efficacy of targeted protein supplementation strategies, and implement the innovative Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) drug discovery approach to identify novel therapeutic agents to attenuate the detrimental effects of TBI on the synapse.
State-of-the-art investigations of synaptic damage as a therapeutic target after TBI are long overdue and this new award for Dr. Carlson beautifully links his work with the novel approaches to therapy development being advanced by the Pit Drug Discovery Institute. Congratulations to Dr. Carlson and the research team.