We study how injury and rehabilitative exercise modulates pain and sensorimotor function following spinal cord injury. We use a multidisciplinary approach which includes assessments of animal behavior, kinematics and electrophysiology as well as assessments of molecular changes in neuron and immune cell phenotypes. Active lines of research ongoing in the lab include:
Neuroimmune interactions associated with pain development after injury
Traumatic injury to the spinal cord induces a robust immune and inflammatory response at the site of primary injury. Recent evidence from our lab and others suggests that these responses are not limited to the site of injury, but rather extend to remote regions of the spinal cord, brain and dorsal root ganglia. We are focused on understanding how a specific type of immune cells called macrophages interact with pain-sensing neurons after injury to result in their dysfunction.
Nociceptor dysfunction associated with cerebral palsy and chronic pain
Cerebral palsy is a movement disorder that is often caused by injuries during prenatal development or birth. In addition to permanent motor impairments, individuals with CP often report chronic pain. We have begun to explore alterations in pain and sensory function as well as nociceptor plasticity in animal models of cerebral palsy.
Role of primary afferent plasticity in recovery of function after traumatic injury
Primary afferent input into the spinal cord is an important component for motor control. After injury, activity-dependent therapies like physical therapy and rehabilitation are the standard of care for individuals who have sustained a spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation paradigms often provide repetitive, primary afferent driven cues to spinal circuitry to drive motor output. In the lab, we use animal models of both injury and rehabilitation to understand how aerobic, resistance or range-of-motion exercises can induce plasticity or alterations in the anatomical and functional properties of primary afferent neurons and spinal cord circuitry that controls movements like reaching and grasping.
Current Lab Members
- Jun Liu, PhD
- Patrick J. McGinnis, MS
Lab Manager
- Jason Wheeler, MS
Neuroscience PhD Student
- Grace A. Giddings
Neuroscience PhD Student
- Corinne W. Marble
Neuroscience PhD Student
- Jonathan Y. Stein
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lab Alumni
- Soha Chhaya, BS, PhD
- Daniel Freeman, BS/MS
- Jonathan Richards, PhD
- John R. Walker, PhD
- Jordan Dowtin-Dorsey, MD
- Ameer Ghaderi, MS
- Andrea Roguer, MS
- Amy Ong, MS
- Chloe Metz, BS
Collaborators Within Drexel
External Collaborators
- Jeoung Soo Lee
Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University
- Katharina A. Quinlan
George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rhode Island
Personal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
As a young person trying to find my way, I was given an opportunity and subsequently found neurotrauma. I can honestly say that the power of strong mentorship that included giving a young, inexperienced person an opportunity in an unknown field changed my trajectory. I have set up and run my lab to be a place of opportunity for individuals to discover if science and research is their purpose. I provide a positive and welcoming environment, where open discussion about ideas and opinions is encouraged. My only requirement is that everyone in the lab must agree to “disagree respectfully,” and that prejudice against anyone on the basis of their identity won’t be tolerated. At any time, my lab members range from high schoolers to retirees, come from diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds and have varied educational focuses and interests that include: neuroscience, engineering, psychology, molecular biology, health sciences and even anthropology.
Techniques
Students currently have the opportunity to learn a wide variety of behavioral and neuroanatomical techniques in the lab:
- Surgical: Stereotactic brain and spinal cord surgery, infusions of neurotoxins, retrograde and anterograde fluorescent labeling.
- Behavioral: Sensory testing, use of the BBB and FLS locomotor rating scales, gait analysis, development of rehabilitative strategies for functional recovery.
- Neuroanatomical: Immunocytochemistry, tract tracing, stereologic cell counting.
- Molecular: quantitative-PCR, microarray analysis of microRNA, Western blot, ELISA, flow cytometry, FACS.
- Electrophysiological: Whole-cell patch electrophysiology, intraspinal recording, EMG recording.
Active Funding
NIH NINDS #NS097880 (years 5-10)
Principal Investigator
Title: Regulation of neuropathic pain by exercise: effects on nociceptor plasticity and inflammation
The overall objective of this proposal is to determine the how exercise alters the role of myeloid cells (macrophages) that infiltrate the dorsal root ganglia after a spinal cord injury to affect nociceptor excitability and the development and persistence of neuropathic pain.
NIH NINDS #RF1NS135580
Co-Principal Investigator
Title: Validation of prenatal rabbit hypoxia ischemia as a model of cerebral palsy-induced pain
The overall objective of this proposal is to determine if the prenatal rabbit hypoxia ischemia which mimics motor dysfunctions of people living with cerebral palsy also emulates the chronic pain that develops over these individuals’ lifetimes. Rigorous experiments will determine face, criterion and construct validity.
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation #1001637
Principal Investigator
Title: Macrophage-targeted nanotherapeutic to reduce SCI Pain
The overall objective of this proposal is to provide necessary preliminary data and establish the feasibility of ED1-PgP-Rm as a therapeutic to treat and provide relief to individuals living with chronic SCI pain.
Lab News
Grace Giddings, Neuroscience PhD Student, gave a research talk, “Exercise as a Protective Strategy for Vascular Dysfunction and Macrophage Infiltration in SCI Pain” at the Gordon Research Conference on Spinal Cord Regeneration in Barga, Italy.
The lab attended the National Neurotrauma Society annual meeting in June 2025. That Grace Giddings was awarded a travel award to present her work was an added bonus!
In August 2024, the lab traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands, to present their work at the World Congress on Pain. Highlights of the trip included meeting Nobel Prize winners David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, and Jason Wheeler’s platform presentation.