Grant: Foundation Grant

The brain is the most energy 'expensive' tissue in nature, thus requiring a massive and complex blood supply that is precisely regulated across space and time. Even when examined on a small scale, different types of brain cells and small blood vessels are highly intertwined and connected, making the brain-blood-interface difficult to understand on a foundational level. My research program uses advanced fluorescence microscopes, lasers and genetic tools to both observe and control the activity of specific types of brain cells in intact animal models. Our objective is to gain insight into how the brain coordinates brain activity with the delivery of brain fuel via the blood supply so that the brain's need for energy is properly met. This is important because numerous neurological conditions including stroke, migraine, dementia and others, are associated with a mismatch between the supply and demand of brain energy. Our objectives are to learn the cellular mechanisms by which brain activity and the delivery of brain blood are matched, and then test how these mechanisms go awry in models of disease. The novel research questions and state-of-the-art experimental approaches we employ will allow us to discover the exact communication pathways utilized by specific cells, as well as understand how to manipulate these cascades using small molecule therapies to ameliorate various brain dysfunctions. Our central aim is to make important scientific advances in this area to ultimately aid the human condition.