SC Talk: Cindi Morshead, Surgery and Anatomy, U of T “Neural Stem Cells to Repair the Injured Brain: A Stroke of Genius”

Speaker: Cindi Morshead, Surgery and Anatomy, U of T     “Neural Stem Cells to Repair the Injured Brain: A Stroke of Genius”

Introducer: Milton Charlton

Host: Michael Hutcheon

Title: “Neural Stem Cells to Repair the Injured Brain: A Stroke of Genius”

Neurodegenerative disorders are the leading cause of disability and the 2nd leading cause of death worldwide.  With the aging population, the significant impact on quality of life of patients and caregivers, as well as staggering socioeconomic burden, will dramatically increase.  The treatment of neurological diseases or trauma remains the last frontier for modern medicine because there are no effective treatments to repair the injured central nervous system and restore function. Stem cells are the future of regenerative medicine. The talk will focus on neural stem cells; the fundamental biology of these rare, resident cells and their potential to repair the stroke-injured brain. With a view towards clinical translation, I will also touch on exciting new ideas and potential therapeutics that have emerged in regenerative medicine to treat the injured central nervous system.

Dr. Morshead did her PhD at the University of Toronto and joined the Department of Surgery in 2003.  She is a tenured Professor and the Chair of the Division of Anatomy, Department of Surgery. She is appointed to the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and is a member of the Institute of Medical Science and Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Morshead served as a graduate coordinator in the Institute of Medical Science.  She is the recipient of awards for research, teaching excellence and graduate student mentorship.  

Prof. Morshead’s research program has made significant contributions in the field of neural stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Her lab has taken an interdisciplinary approach to develop novel therapeutics to treat the injured CNS. The overarching goal is to understand the fundamental biology of neural stem cells and harness their potential for regenerative strategies. Her lab has exceptional expertise in preclinical animal models of injury and disease with combined strengths in lineage analysis, transgenic mouse models, cell biology, and animal behaviour. Her work has delineated novel activation strategies and insight into the cell-based mechanisms underlying neural repair. Her team continues to expore novel strategies including electric field application to activate precursors, and cellular reprogramming to replace lost cells.  Ultimately, the work has supported clinical translation including a recently funded phase III clinical trial using drugs to activate endogenous neural stem cells to treat children with acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy and more recently, multiple sclerosis.

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