Research Statement
My research focus is cognitive outcome after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) with an emphasis on pre-clinical and translational approachees. After joining the faculty at the University of Utah, I obtained a Master’s degree in Clinical Investigation with an emphasis on basic science research and Neuroscience. This training program prepares physicians for translational research. I was funded by a Child Health Research Career Development Award in May 2010 to study short and long-term effects of erythropoietin administration on molecular, histologic and functional outcomes in a rodent model of pediatric TBI. Future research will examine epigenetic mechanisms of erythropoietin gene regulation in the brain, in a cell type-specific manner, after TBI. In addition, I have been funded as a co-PI since May 2011 to conduct a prospective observational study of children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit for severe traumatic brain injury. Using cerebrospinal fluid collected from TBI patients over time, I will measure breakdown products of a brain-specific protein to study patterns of cell death, and levels of endogenously produced erythropoietin, after pediatric TBI. In addition, I will measure these breakdown products in the hippocampus and cortex of rat pup brains after TBI. Together with the other co-PIs, we will collect clinical, demographic and laboratory data, including EEG patterns on these patients as well as data regarding functional outcome after TBI.
My mentor is a clinician scientist. His laboratory focuses on molecular biology, with an emphasis on epigenetics as a tool for exploring the impact of early life experiences. My interests lie in the neurodevelopmental consequences of pediatric traumatic brain injury; my focus is on cognitive outcome and how it may be modified by endogenous repair mechanisms as well as by the use of sedatives and analgesics.
Research Keywords
Languages
English, fluent.
Spanish, fluent.