Grant: Project Grant

Brain injury in newborns is responsible for many neurological impairments, which are classified as cerebral palsy (CP) and accounts for 27% of all childhood disability. A significant unmet need exists for developing novel, safe and effective therapies to prevent perinatal brain injury. There are currently no specific therapies that address the issue of perinatal brain injury. At the outside, a 30 minute window exists following the interruption of blood flow, where living, but in-danger, brain tissue will die if no treatment is applied. Targeted treatment to these injured, but not dead cells, could dramatically improve outcomes of surviving children. We want to develop peptides that allow for the safe release of drugs that is targeted to the earliest signs of the brain being in distress. With this tool, we will then be able to screen multiple drugs for understanding their effect on the treatment of the brain.