Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or concussions are disruptions to brain function due to an impact to the head. TBI is the most common cause of death and disability for people under 45, impacting people from many walks of life like sports players (little leagues to pros), military personnel, and domestic abuse victims. TBI is also the number one cause of a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), in which the brain degenerates in a way akin to Alzheimer's disease. The mechanism in which TBI develops into CTE is largely unknown due to logistical and ethical challenges. My research provides two unique ways to overcome these challenges. First, my lab has developed the first Zebrafish TBI model, allowing us to use Zebrafish which pose an ethical advantage versus other animal models. Second, my lab has optimized an experimental method to measure brain activity during an injury event, something that is currently not understood or possible in other TBI models. I have recently discovered evidence that a common symptom of TBI, seizures, is a mechanistic link between TBI and CTE and that a specific biological pathway that impacts seizure activity influences the development of CTE symptoms when altered via genetic and drug interventions. Due to this, I have hypothesized that increased neural activity is a mechanistic link between TBI and CTE. My project will study this by characterizing neural events during TBI and manipulating the biological pathway of interest through genetic mutations and targeted pharmaceuticals, this will allow me to detail the mechanisms of how neural activity connects TBI to the onset of CTE. My research project is significant since understanding how TBI leads to CTE will influence rational drug design for patients suffering from TBI and CTE, who currently have no effective treatments. Additionally, understanding the biological pathway of CTE development can help uncover genetic risk factors of developing CTE after TBI.