Kate M. Harms
PhD Candidate
Laboratory of Dr. Lee Anna Cunningham, PhD
Research Interests: To understand the role of HIF-1α in neural stem cell-mediated neuroprotection following cerebral ischemia.
My research involves understanding the neurogenic response to ischemic stroke. I am particularly interested in the role of neural stem cell migration from the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricle to the striatum following an ischemic event. One possible reason for this response could be to support neuronal survival through the release of protective trophic factors. Since hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is involved in the response of many hypoxic tissues throughout the body, we have chosen to study the role of this transcription factor in mediating neural stem cell protection of neurons following cerebral ischemia. Our laboratory currently uses in vitro and in vivo models to research ischemic stroke: oxygen-glucose deprivation for in vitro experiments and mild focal middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) for in vivo studies.
This project is
supported by the American Heart Association through a predoctoral fellowship (0810071Z).