In this episode of A Moment with Dalton we talk with experienced clinician-researcher James D. Guest, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., Clinical Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery The Miami Project. Dr. Guest discusses his experience in the SCI field and insight acquired at The Miami Project as a translational researcher. His research program is focused on methods to increase recovery after SCI, the application of therapeutic combinations in preclinical studies, and clinical trials that range from Phase 1-3 and include drugs, cells, devices and biomaterials. Dr. Guest talks with Dr. Dietrich about working to make clinical trials more efficient and trying to get to answers about efficacy more quickly and safely among other SCI research topics. Follow the link to watch the entire interview with Dr. Guest.
The current focus of Dr. Guest’s lab is on the transplantation of autologous glial cells to repair spinal cord injuries. They utilize several types of animal models with an emphasis on solving translational questions related to human clinical application. They also emphasize minimally-invasive surgical lesion-making and transplantation techniques. Sophisticated outcome assessment techniques are used to evaluate transplant effects in both the acute and chronic state of injury. These include kinematic assessment of hand function and gait, electrophysiologic study of conduction across lesion sites, and sensory testing. Other areas of research include studies of human post-mortem spinal cord tissue, intraoperative human spinal cord conduction studies, and research design for human clinical trials.