Grant: CIHR Fellowship

The loss of spinal cord function due to injury or disease in humans results in lifelong disability for individuals and associated annual health care costs in the billions of dollars. Regenerative medicine is a promising therapeutic avenue for treating spinal cord injury, however, progress on this front has been slowed by our relatively poor understanding of regeneration biology. In order to develop safe and effective treatments, we must first understand the steps required for successful spinal cord regeneration. Although the translational potential of mammalian research is relatively high, most mammals are unable to recover from SCI. Zebrafish, on the other hand, are emerging as a popular model for complete spinal cord regeneration; however, their ability to regenerate is in part due to a drastically more favourable injury environment compared to mammals. Whereas mammals are faced with chronic inflammation and permanent scarring, zebrafish do not encounter these challenges following SCI. Thus, there are limits to using zebrafish as a model for mammalian SCI. In preliminary work, I have observed that the Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus, can successfully recover from SCI despite the formation of scar tissue. This provides an exciting opportunity to study the mechanisms that allow an organism to overcome the classic SCI challenges encountered by mammals. By focusing on the role of the immune response on scar formation and spinal cord regeneration in the Mexican cavefish, my work will uncover the mechanisms by which this remarkable species rebuilds its severed spine and restores function in spite of substantial scar tissue at the injury site. This work will provide the foundation for establishing the Mexican cavefish as a new model for spinal cord regeneration in a clinically relevant context.