Shubayev Research Laboratory
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Principal Investigator Veronica Shubayev, MD |
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AdministratorAmber Millen Phone: (858) 534-1339 |
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Lab Manager Jennifer Dolkas
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About Our Research
At the Shubayev Lab, we explore interactions between the immune and nervous systems. Our research is rooted in the belief that decoding cellular and molecular mechanisms will unlock new frontiers in treating injuries and diseases of the peripheral and central nervous systems (PNS/CNS).
Primary sensory and motor neurons – the longest cells in the body, exceeding 1 meter in human sciatic nerve – have a peripheral branch (axon) terminating in the skin or muscle, and a central branch terminating in the spinal cord. After injury, the peripheral/PNS – but not the central/CNS– axons regenerate. We work to decipher the “algorithm” of successful PNS regeneration to inform new CNS-regenerative therapies (see Neuro-Regeneration) and to identify defects in PNS repair resulting in neuropathic (nerve injury) pain, a devastating chronic pain state not treated by current analgesic therapies (see Pain and Inflammation, below)
We study cell-to-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions at neuro-glial, immuno-synapse, and neuro-vascular (blood-brain and blood-nerve) barriers which tightly regulate immune cell and molecular trafficking into the nervous system (see Immune Privilege). We are interested in the nervous system’s unique structures and cells, including myelin, dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, Schwann cells and astrocytes, and their sensitivity to molecular actions of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), their tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) and substrates, including myelin basic protein (MBP).
