People

Current Students

Rachel P. Allred Graduate Student I study how behavioral experiences influence functional recovery after unilateral stroke-like injuries of the sensorimotor cortex in rats.   I recently discovered that training the "good" forelimb of rats after these injuries worsens function in the impaired limb.  My dissertation is focused on understanding the characteristics and neural basis of this effect.

Soo Young Kim  Graduate Student I am interested in glia-neuronal interactions in synaptic plasticity and recovery from brain damage.  My current research is focused on age-related differences in the remodeling of neocortical astrocytes and synapses after brain damage.

Monica A. Maldonado  Graduate Student One of my primary interests is how cell proliferation, including neurogenesis, contributes to functional recovery after brain damage in adult animals.  My dissertation research is focused on the potential of motor rehabilitative training to drive neocortical gliagenesis and neurogenesis.

Amber O'Bryant  Graduate Student My dissertation research focus is the use of a novel treatment approach, motor cortical stimulation (CS), for stroke-induced functional impairments.  I have recently discovered that combining CS with motor rehabilitative training results in functional improvements that  persist for at least 9-10 months after the end of treatment compared to rats receiving rehabilitative training alone.  My current research is focused on understanding the effective timing of this treatment after stroke-like injuries in rat and its influence on neural activity and plasticity in residual sensorimotor cortex.

Kelly Tennant					Graduate Student I am investigating aging effects on recovery and neurorehabiliation in mouse models of cerebral ischemia. I have also been developing a new mouse model suitable for in vivo investigations of neocortical plasticity linked to motor learning and recovery from cortical infarct.

Undergraduates:

• Ryan Allen
• Adam Beardsley
• Lu Chou
  
• Brian Dena
• Lindsay Ripley
• Truc Garcia
• Sanjay Gulati
  
• Angelica McPartlin
• Hana Yu