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

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-changing condition that causes permanent problems with movement, sensation, and internal organ control. This happens because axons, the spinal cord's nerve fibers that carry signals between the brain and the body, are severed. Unfortunately, these axons cannot regrow after damage. Today, there are no clinically available treatments that can promote regeneration. However, in early development, neurons can repair their axons by turning on genes that support axon growth. As neurons mature, though, they lose this ability for self-repair. My research aims to understand why this repair process is lost, with the goal of developing a therapy to support regeneration after SCI. In my project, I have found that a drug called BRM014 can bolster axon growth by acting on a molecular switch that controls how genes are activated in neurons. This suggests that BRM014 is a candidate regenerative therapy for SCI. So far, these results are limited to neurons grown in a dish. For the next step towards a regenerative therapy, I will test whether BRM014 can promote axon growth and improve recovery in adult mice after SCI. In these experiments, I will measure movement recovery using behavioural tests and will assess regeneration using high-resolution imaging to examine whether the drug helps nerve fibers grow past the injury site. To understand how the drug works, I will analyze gene expression in drug-treated neurons using advanced sequencing methods. I anticipate that this will reveal the molecular changes that allow damaged axons to regrow. In summary, this work will provide a stepping stone towards a new drug-based approach to re-activate the body's natural repair program and lay the groundwork for a therapy that restores function after SCI.