Research Interest

The major focus of my current research program is on developing clinically applicable strategies that are efficacious for enhancing brain function after injury, disease or aging. The central areas of investigation include the following:

1. Elucidating mechanisms by which transplanted immature neuronal precursors and neural stem cells (derived from embryonic, postnatal and adult brain tissues as well as human induced pluripotent stem cells [hiPSCs]) promote brain repair and ease spontaneous recurrent seizures and cognitive and mood dysfunction in prototypes of status epilepticus, chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and traumatic brain injury (controlled cortical injury [moderate TBI] and blast-related brain injury [mild TBI] models).
2. Studying mechanisms of brain dysfunction in prototypes of Gulf War Illness and developing treatment strategies for easing cognitive and mood dysfunction in Gulf War Illness.
3. Understanding the basic neurobiological processes that underlie age-related changes in neural stem cells, hippocampal neurogenesis and plasticity.
4. Developing clinically feasible strategies for improving hippocampal neurogenesis, and memory and mood function in aging and neurological diseases via stimulation of endogenous neural stem/progenitor cells;
5. Analyzing promising neuroprotective compounds and drugs for their usefulness to block chronic epilepsy development after an initial precipitating injury such as status epilepticus or traumatic brain injury.