Posts Tagged ‘neuroscience’

OHSU researchers Jessica Martin, Ph.D., Alexandra Brown, and Agnieszka Balkowiec, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator and associate professor of integrative biosciences in the School of Dentistry, have discovered the importance of glial cells in regulating the growth of brainstem neurons. Until now, glial cells had been thought to play a peripheral role in regulating the neurons that control blood pressure and breathing. This new research, published in Neuroscience, shows that glial cells actually play a significant … Read More

“Big Issues and the Brain — The Brain and Society” is the theme for this year’s Brain Awareness Lecture Series, beginning February 20, 2012. Cutting edge neuroscientists and researchers will share their expertise on topics concerning the brain. The 2012 lineup is: Monday, February 20, 2012 – “Alzheimer’s and the brain: What can we do?” It’s true that we have no “cure” for Alzheimer’s, but Gary Small, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Director of the … Read More

Recent research from Agnieszka Balkowiec, M.D., Ph.D.,  associate professor of integrative biosciences in the School of Dentistry,  and published in Neuroscience, makes advances in Rett syndrome—a neurological disorder affecting one in 10,000 baby girls. The research team found that  brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is essential for development and plasticity of nerve cells but that it appears to be missing in those with Rett syndrome neuronal mutations.  Intriguingly, these mutant neurons don’t produce enough BDNF in … Read More

The Dana Foundation seeks proposals from junior faculty on improving human brain and brain-immune functioning in health and disease. The Foundation will provide up to $200,000 in pilot funding for innovative ideas that have direct clinical application. Previously funded studies under this program have focused primarily on 1) understanding normal brain functioning, how it is altered by disease or injury, and how it recovers or repairs, 2) assessing and improving diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, and … Read More

Each year, OHSU’s Layton Aging & Alzheimer’s Disease Center administers the Oregon Partnership for Alzheimer’s Research (OPAR), a program which allows Oregon taxpayers to have a portion of their state income tax refund donated to Alzheimer’s research. Researchers in Oregon have an opportunity to receive up to $40,000 from OPAR via the Oregon Tax Checkoff Alzheimer’s Research Fund. Priority for funding will be given to investigators just entering the field of dementia research and to … Read More

As a child, Peter Steyger, Ph.D., was given an aminoglycoside antibiotic to treat a severe case of meningitis. While this type of antibiotic is incredibly effective at treating life-threating infections, Dr. Steyger can tell you all about one of the drug’s potential side effects: deafness. Forty-eight years later, Dr. Steyger has finally discovered how those antibiotics caused his hearing loss. He found that the antibiotics cross a “blood-layrinth” barrier in the inner ear that transports … Read More

A team of researchers at OHSU, led by Stephen Back, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics and neurology, is the first to find white matter lesions in preterm infants using high-field MRI. These microscopic lesions, often missed by traditional MRIs, can cause significant disabilities in children, including cerebral palsy. By detecting the brain injuries sooner, families may have the option to begin therapy and rehabilitation sooner. However, according to Dr. Back, future studies are need … Read More

The Oregon Alzheimer Disease Center (OADC) seeks applications for its pilot project program, which provides $25,000 to $30,000 to promote basic or clinical biomedical, translational, epidemiological, caregiving, educational or behavioral research on Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, and normal brain aging. The funding is intended for the development of preliminary data for future applications for independent research support. This award is ideal for postdoctoral fellows or junior faculty, but may also be awarded to more senior … Read More

Learn about new findings and directions on the paradox of neuroablative approaches to pain—from the lab to the operating room and back—at the OHSU Brain Institute Quarterly Forum. Participants will include: Marc Sindou, MD, DSc, professor and chair of the department of neurosurgery at the University of Leon in France. Mary Heinricher, PhD, professor and vice-chair for research, and neurological surgery professor at OHSU. The event is free and open to anyone at OHSU interested … Read More

OHSU’s Department of Pediatrics has the following research seminars lined up for September: Matthew Rasband, PhD Dr. Rasband, associate professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, will be giving a lecture on “The Functional Organization of Axons in Health & Disease” on September 13, 2011 from 12 to 1 p.m. in Vollum room M1441. This lecture is co-sponsored by the Jungers Center for Neuroscience Research. . Jongsook Kim Kemper, PhD Dr. Kemper, associate professor … Read More