Role of Axonal Sprouting Mediated Network Reorganization in Stroke Recovery

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Principal Investigator: Asher Jefferson Albertson
Organization: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $198,676
Funding agency: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

The goal of this mentored career development award is to facilitate the candidate’s transition to independence
as a physician-scientist studying the molecular and neuronal mechanisms of stroke recovery. The candidate is
an MD/PhD neurologist with a background in synaptic physiology and cortical network research. The award will
help the candidate gain research experience in the mechanisms of network recovery after ischemic stroke and
will facilitate his transition to an investigator with an independent laboratory. The award will also help position
the candidate to achieve his long term goal of becoming a successful and productive physician-scientist, a leader
in academic neurology, and a mediator of translational research which improves the lives of patients suffering
from acute brain injury. The environment in which the proposed research will be conducted is outstanding. The
candidate’s co-mentor, Dr. Jin-Moo Lee, is an internationally recognized scientist and neurologist with a proven
track record of excellence in training junior faculty. The candidate’s career development plan also includes
structured mentorship from multiple physician-scientists at all stages of seniority and exposure to a rich and
supportive faculty, ensuring the candidate has role models along the full spectrum of the career trajectory.
Didactic learning, presentation at scientific meetings, and rigorous training in the responsible conduct of research
will ensure balanced development. The proposed research will examine the role of axonal sprouting in restoration
of both local cortical circuits and secondary reconnection to global brain networks. Recovery after focal cortical
stroke is associated with remapping of the function of the infarcted region to adjacent, non-infarcted cortex.
Recovery is also associated with restoration of disrupted functionally connected networks. While both
phenomena (local circuit remapping and restoration of functional connectivity) are strongly associated with stroke
recovery, the underlying structural substrate is unknown. The goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that
axonal sprouting mediates cortical remapping via reconnection of local circuits. A secondary hypothesis is that
further axonal sprouting originating from the remapped cortex mediates restoration of whole-brain functional
connectivity by reintegrating the disconnected circuit into global networks. This project further hypothesizes that
the degree of recovery of these two processes (local remapping and restoration of functionally connected
networks) correlates to the degree of behavioral stroke recovery. Clarifying the underlying mechanisms driving
network repair after stroke will provide crucial insights into recovery after ischemic brain injury and will be the
basis for future studies attempting to harness these mechanisms to improve outcomes for stroke survivors. This
career development award is an ideal mechanism to provide the candidate with valuable research training to
complement his clinical focus on caring for patients with acute brain injury and will help him develop a skill set
for translating basic science discoveries into effective therapies for patients suffering from stroke.

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