Current Research

Under normal circumstances, nerve cells in the mature central nervous system (CNS: brain, spinal cord, eye) can not re-establish their connections after injury, nor can intact cells grow new connections to compensate for those that have been lost. As a result of this, victims of traumatic injury, stroke, or neurodegenerative diseases can suffer per-manent and often devastating losses in movement, sensation, bodily functions, and thinking. The goals of the Benowitz lab are to discover the basic mechanisms that con-trol the growth of nerve connections and to apply insights from this work to promote regeneration and functional recovery after CNS injury. This research extends from the basic cellular and molecular levels to in vivo models in the mature CNS.

Our current projects focus on:

1. Optic nerve regeneration: research on the molecules that enable the projection neurons of the eye (retinal ganglion cells) to regrow their connections through the optic nerve. Click here for more info...

2. Spinal cord injury & stroke: methods to enhance the rewiring of brain connections and improve functional outcome after spinal cord injury or stroke. Click here for more info...

3. Inosine and cell signaling pathways: the small, naturally occurring molecule, inosine, stimulates certain types of nerve cells to extend nerve fibers in cell culture and in vivo. Inosine appears to stimulate a cell signaling pathway that controls the expression of a group of genes required for axon growth. Click here for more info...