In this episode of A Moment with Dalton, we talk with Coleen Atkins, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery and The Miami Project. Dr. Atkins and her team focus on developing novel therapeutic interventions for traumatic brain injury (TBI). She talks with Dr. Dietrich about some potential new drugs showing promise in improving learning and memory following TBI. Additionally, she talks about how stress can be a factor in learning and memory problems following concussion or mild TBI. Watch the entire interview with Dr. Atkins below.
The research in Dr. Atkins laboratory focuses on developing novel therapeutic interventions for traumatic brain injury. They are identifying the biochemical changes that underlie the pathology in the brain after trauma using molecular biology, biochemistry and electrophysiology techniques. Dr. Atkins lab is developing therapeutic strategies targeting maladaptive electrophysiological alterations, inflammation, and intracellular biochemical signaling pathways that are dysregulated during chronic traumatic brain injury. The ultimate aim of Dr. Atkins laboratory is to translate our preclinical studies to the clinic by testing our novel therapeutic interventions validated in the laboratory in chronic TBI survivors.
Coleen M. Atkins, Ph.D. is currently an Associate Professor at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis in the Department of Neurological Surgery, Director of the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and a Research Health Scientist at the Bruce Carter Miami VA Healthcare System.