Helen M. Bramlett, Ph.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery, has been named as the Editor-in-Chief of Neurotrauma Reports. This new Open Access journal is the companion publication of the Journal of Neurotrauma. The mission of Neurotrauma Reports is to support basic, translational, and clinical neurotrauma publications. “My vision for this journal is to provide the neurotrauma field with not only another avenue for publishing original basic, translational and clinical papers but also to be able to reach out to individuals who have been impacted by central nervous system injury and disease with the availability of open access papers,” said Dr. Bramlett on being named Editor-in-Chief.
The main focus of Dr. Bramlett’s laboratory is investigating the pathophysiology of traumatic injury leading to the use of therapeutic strategies targeting specific mechanisms of damage. My laboratory focuses on three areas of traumatic research: 1) neuroprotective strategies for traumatic injury, 2) progressive damage after trauma and 3) secondary injury mechanisms of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Our laboratory has been investigating the therapeutic potential of hypothermia for many years. Current studies are involved in clarifying the importance of targeted temperature management and inflammatory markers of secondary brain injury. Models of focal as well as diffuse brain injury are being used to investigate strategies for improving outcomes and reducing vulnerability patterns to secondary insults. We have previously shown that therapeutic hypothermia reduces blood brain barrier breakdown as well as diffuse axonal injury. Most recently, we have determined that hypothermia also modulates the innate immune response through reducing inflammasome activation and subsequent caspase-1 production. We are currently combining therapeutic hypothermia with a novel proneurogenic compound to promote hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function. Our long-term goal is to develop these therapies and translate them into TBI patients.