Grant: DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-altering condition caused by damage to the spinal cord, often caused by car accidents, falls, or violence. It is widely known that spinal cord injuries can cause disruption to healthy resident gut bacteria. This disruption allows harmful bacteria to overgrow, creating an environment that promotes hyperinflammation in the immune system. Our lab has shown that many of the immune cells that respond to spinal cord injuries originate from the gut and may become overactivated if the bacterial environment is out of balance. This inflammation can lead to worsened healing and increased pain after injury. My work proposes a model of fecal microbiome transplant where healthy bacteria is transferred from a healthy mouse to an injured one to protect against the negative microbiome effects seen after spinal cord injuries. We will be measuring a variety of molecular and behavioral outcomes to holistically understand the impact of fecal transplantation in the injury model. Fecal microbiome transplantation is a simple and safe method that could be implemented into the human spinal cord injury treatment regimen with the outcome of improving pain and recovery following injury.