In this episode of A Moment with Dalton we catch up with Daniel J. Liebl, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery and The Miami Project. Dr. Liebl discusses his two decades at The Miami Project and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine where he has studied the molecular mechanisms that regulate cellular dysfunction and death following central nervous system (CNS) injury, and the mechanisms to promote regeneration and recovery.
Dr. Liebl chats with Dr. Dietrich about how discovery science has changed over the years, the advantages of being in a collaborative environment like the one at The Miami Project and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and why he thinks it’s critically important to invest in research and discovery. Watch the entire interview with Dr. Liebl below.
Dr. Liebl’s overall goal is to achieve a better understanding of how the injured CNS response to traumatic injury, including brain and spinal cord injury. Protecting the brain and spinal cord from progressive damage and promoting restoration are both important for improving patient recovery. His laboratory has focused on four specific areas of interest: (1) identifying a novel mechanism of cell death; (2) stabilizing synaptic connections and re-establishing new synapses; (3) promoting angiogenesis; and (4) enhancement of adult neurogenesis. To examine these functions, they take advantage of genetic mouse models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI), where they can examine the mechanisms of action within a complex and evolving injury environment using loss-of-function, gain-of-function, and return-of-function approaches. In fact, Dr. Liebl’s team takes great value in employing a comprehensive set of tools for each of our experimental goals, including molecular, biochemical, genetic, cellular, behavioral, and physiological analyzes as well as high-throughput approaches to identify novel regulators of CNS recovery.