NIH EUREKA grant awarded to University of Miami scientist

Award given for exceptionally innovative research will support a project aimed at causing a major paradigm-shift in regenerative medicine

CORAL GABLES, FL (September 16, 2008)- A team of scientists headed by neuroscientist Dr. Akira Chiba has been awarded the first ever EUREKA grant by the National Institute of Health (NIH), to develop a technique that can lead to a new treatment for spinal cord injury. Dr. Chiba, a professor at the University of Miami's Department of Biology, and his collaborators plan to use a novel and groundbreaking process to enhance synapse formation or nerve regeneration.

Dr. Chiba's project focuses on developing nerve connectivity by applying tension to individual neurons. A collaborative work between Dr. Chiba and scientists at the University of Illinois yielded evidence that a mechanical force applied to nascent nerve synapses, or injured embryonic nerve cells initiates, enhances and repairs their connectivity.

"This FORCE (force orchestrated retrograde synaptic enhancement) mechanism is likely based on a property of cells conserved through evolution and, thus, has the potential to be applied widely, including in the field of regenerative medicine," said Chiba. "A Holy Grail of regenerative neuromedicine is spinal cord repair," he said. "It would be rash to predict that our project will solve the problem, but perhaps we can make a significant contribution to the solution."

The project is a multi-disciplinary effort that combines genetics, bioengineering, computational bioinformatics and nanotechnology. If successful, the research will introduce a new concept in the regeneration of central nervous system neurons after injury.