Bogdan Stoica, MD

The main focus of my research is to understand the mechanisms of neuronal cell loss after central nervous system trauma. My studies are based on the hypothesis that brain trauma initiates multiple maladaptive mechanisms (secondary injury) that lead to improper activation of neuronal cell death pathways and/or prevent efficient activation of neuronal repair mechanisms. Thus, neurons that receive a survivable injury are unnecessarily removed and/or fail to undergo effective repair/regeneration. By identifying the injury-induced molecular dysfunctions we can design optimal therapeutic approaches that will increase neuronal survival and recovery after brain trauma, improving neurological deficits.

An area of special interest is the modulation of secondary injury mechanisms by microRNAs following experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recent data suggest that injury-induced changes in specific microRNAs are key to activation of neuronal cell death pathways and ultimately to neuronal cell loss after TBI.