OUR MISSION

Can the brain regenerate after injury? Can we awaken dormant mechanisms of brain repair to restore lost functions after stroke? What genetic and environmental factors shape both our vulnerability to stroke and our capacity for recovery? Finding the answer to these questions, which has eluded scientists for decades, is the central mission of the Nih Laboratory.

OUR APPROACH

Rather than viewing this as a single-discipline problem, we approach brain repair through the combined lenses of neuroscience and bioengineering by integrating fundamental discovery with translational innovation. First, we investigate the brain’s innate response to injury, uncovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms naturally activated after stroke. Second, we engineer regenerative therapeutic platforms designed to support and enhance endogenous repair mechanisms following brain injury. Finally, we use insights gained from these studies to advance our understanding of recovery biology and guide the development of increasingly effective therapeutic strategies.

OUR RESEARCH

1. Engineering regenerative biomaterial platforms to support tissue repair following neurological injury;
2. Developing advanced regenerative therapeutic strategies to improve functional recovery;
3. Exploring how prenatal and early-life stresses impact stroke vulnerability; and
4. Identifying genetic and molecular mechanisms that shape post-stroke recovery.

Together, these efforts bring us closer to achieving our mission: uncovering how the brain attempts to heal itself and translating bold science into new therapeutic pathways that can truly restore function and quality of life for stroke patients.