Spatial Transcriptomic Clocks Reveal Cell Proximity Effects in Brain Aging Academic Background With aging, cognitive function declines, and the risk of neurodegenerative diseases significantly increases. Brain aging is a complex process accompanied by numerous cellular changes. However, how aging cells affect neighboring cells and how this contribu...
Synaptic Basis of Feature Selectivity in Hippocampal Neurons Academic Background A central question in neuroscience is how synaptic plasticity shapes the feature selectivity of neurons in behaving animals. Hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons (CA1PNs) exhibit one of the most striking forms of feature selectivity by forming spatially and contextually s...
Academic Background Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a severe X-linked recessive disorder characterized by progressive muscle wasting, leading to premature mortality. The cause of DMD is mutations in the gene encoding dystrophin, a protein that, along with other proteins at the muscle cell membrane, forms the Dystrophin-Glycoprotein Complex (DG...
Long-term Clinical and Safety Outcomes from a Single-site Phase 1 Study of Neural Stem Cell Transplantation for Chronic Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury Academic Background Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe neurological condition that causes significant disability in millions of people worldwide. Traditional treatments primarily focus on stabilizing ...
The Role of the Neonatal Gut Microbiota in the Encephalopathy of Prematurity: A Comprehensive Study Academic Background Premature birth (defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation) is a common issue globally, affecting approximately 10% of pregnancies. Preterm infants are at risk of abnormal brain development, known as Encephalopathy of Prematur...
Academic Background and Problem Statement Neurogenic Heterotopic Ossification (NHO) is a pathological condition where ectopic bone tissue forms in muscles following severe central nervous system (CNS) injuries, such as spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), or stroke. NHO not only impairs motor function but can also lead to joint s...