EPSCoR Research Fellows: NSF: Regenerative Capacity of Mechanosensory Neurons within the Lamprey Spinal Cord

This Research Infrastructure Improvement EPSCoR Research Fellows project provides a fellowship to an Assistant Professor and training for a graduate student at Western Kentucky University. This work is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Morgan at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Throughout the fellowship, the PI will investigate changes in spinal sensory networks associated with spinal cord regeneration. Specifically, the PI will quantify regeneration in spinal sensory neurons after a spinal cord injury in the larval sea lamprey, a species that is known for its ability to regenerate its spinal cord. Examining these changes in spinal sensory networks will contribute to our understanding of how local spinal circuits respond to neural trauma and subsequent recovery. This project will significantly improve Neuroscience research capacity for undergraduates at Western Kentucky University. This project will examine changes in physiological and morphological characteristics of mechanosensory neurons after a traumatic spinal cord injury in the larval lamprey. This work will contribute to our understanding of how local spinal circuits respond to neural trauma and subsequent recovery and will provide the foundation for future studies on how sensory feedback influences functional recovery. The PI will utilize intracellular electrophysiology to record from and fill mechanosensory dorsal cells. Recorded cells will be subsequently imaged using high-resolution microscopy to quantify morphological features. Through this project, the PI will acquire an intracellular electrophysiology rig which will form the foundation of a collaborative Neurophysiology Core at Western Kentucky University. The acquisition of this equipment will provide students with the tools to learn about neuroscience at the circuit-level using the lamprey model. The data collected during the proposed experiments will be utilized in undergraduate courses taught by the PI to provide students with the opportunity to learn data collection techniques from real neuron images and recordings. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Research Fellows, which supports early- and mid-career investigators in eligible jurisdictions to develop collaborations at the nation’s private, government or academic research institutions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.