Stroke Research
Research Leader: Associate Professor Simon Koblar
The human brain is claimed to be the most complex 1.5 kg of matter in the known universe. There has been an incredible increase in understanding of the brain over the past 20 years, from imaging, physiological, cellular and molecular/genetic perspectives. The major challenge and goal of the Stroke Research group is to take this knowledge and exploit it to prevent and treat stroke better.
Stroke is by far the most common neurological disease, afflicting 60,000 Australians per annum. It is the second leading cause of death. A significant number of people are left with neurological disability and it remains the leading cause of adult disability in Australia.
In 2009 the group found that transplanted adult stem cells derived from human teeth resulted in a significant improvement in function following a stroke in rodents. The group injected these adult human stem cells into the rat brain 24 hours following a stroke, which caused a significant improvement in limb function four weeks following stroke as compared to animals with no stem cell treatment.
Research Priorities:
- Stem cell therapy in stroke
- Transcriptional regulation of stroke
- Stem cells and nanotechnology - investigating a ‘neurochip'
- Models of care
- Neuro-imaging of the stroke brain
