{"590347":{"#nid":"590347","#data":{"type":"event","title":"BME Speaker Seminar with Kacy Cullen, Ph.D.*","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch2\u003EKacy Cullen, Ph.D.*\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAssociate Professor of Neurosurgery\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCo-Director, Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration \u0026amp; Restoration\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGraduate Group Affiliations:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026nbsp; Neuroscience and Bioengineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nTissue Engineered \u0026lsquo;Living Scaffolds\u0026rsquo; for Nervous System Reconstruction and Neuromodulation\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EABSTRACT\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nNeurotrauma or neurodegenerative disease commonly result in the disconnection of axon pathways \u0026ndash; the long-distance fibers connecting specialized regions of the central nervous system (CNS) or relaying peripheral signals to\/from the extremities. Unfortunately, functional axonal regeneration rarely occurs due to extreme distances to targets, absence of directed guidance, and, in the CNS, the presence of inhibitory factors \u0026ndash; often resulting in permanent cognitive and\/or sensorimotor deficits. To address this need, the Cullen Lab is pioneering the development of so-called \u0026ldquo;living scaffolds\u0026rdquo;, which are anatomically-inspired tissue engineered constructs consisting of neural cells in a defined, anisotropic architecture. These \u0026ldquo;living scaffolds\u0026rdquo; recapitulate developmental mechanisms by providing a living labeled pathway for targeted axonal regeneration or neuronal migration, and in some cases may physically \u0026ldquo;wire in\u0026rdquo; to replace or modulate complex brain circuitry. One example mimics the general systems-level architecture of the nervous system: discrete neuronal populations spanned by long axonal tracts. These constructs serve as regenerative bridges to facilitate long-distance axonal regeneration based on the newly discovered mechanism of \u0026ldquo;axon-facilitated axon regeneration\u0026rdquo;. In another application, we are utilizing implantable neural networks for minimally invasive neurosurgical reconstruction of long-distance sensorimotor or dopaminergic axon tracts that are vulnerable in traumatic brain injury and Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s disease. We also apply micro-constructs of engineered axonal tracts as the first biological \u0026ldquo;living electrodes\u0026rdquo; for synaptic-based modulation of neural circuitry. Collectively, this research lays the foundation for implantable, preformed neural networks as a versatile platform technology to precisely restore or augment neural circuitry with broad therapeutic application. Although there are formidable challenges in preclinical and clinical advancement, these tissue engineered \u0026ldquo;living scaffolds\u0026rdquo; represent a promising strategy to restore nervous system structure and function following injury or disease.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nHost: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:garrett.stanley@bme.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGarrett Stanley, Ph.D.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditional support provided by Georgia Tech Neuro, Petit Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThursday, April 27\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n2:00 p.m.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPetit Institute, Room 1128 \u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nVideoconference:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nHSRB E160 and\u0026nbsp;TEP 104\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"BME Speaker Seminar with Kacy Cullen, Ph.D.*"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2017-04-13 14:34:20","changed_gmt":"2017-04-21 12:47:41","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2017-04-27T15:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2017-04-27T16:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2017-04-27T16:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2017-04-27 19:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2017-04-27 20:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2017-04-27 20:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"590346":{"id":"590346","type":"image","title":"Kacy Cullen, Ph.D.","body":null,"created":"1492093065","gmt_created":"2017-04-13 14:17:45","changed":"1492093065","gmt_changed":"2017-04-13 14:17:45","alt":"Kacy Cullen, Ph.D.","file":{"fid":"224914","name":"DK Cullen - Headshot-v2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DK%20Cullen%20-%20Headshot-v2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DK%20Cullen%20-%20Headshot-v2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":186343,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DK%20Cullen%20-%20Headshot-v2.jpg?itok=h_W1LLDr"}}},"media_ids":["590346"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1612","name":"BME"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:garrett.stanley@bme.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGarrett Stanley, Ph.D.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}