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David Loane, PhD

Dr. Loane leads a multi-disciplinary research team dedicated to studying the complexities of traumatic brain injury (TBI), neuroinflammation and tissue repair. His research investigates the activation status and functional role of resident microglia and infiltrating macrophages in the TBI brain, and to determine how they contribute to chronic neurodegeneration and long-term neurological dysfunction after brain trauma.  Dr. Loane’s research group is seeking to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that regulate microglial/macrophage activation and function with the goal of manipulating these cells to attenuate destructive pro-inflammatory responses and promote protective anti-inflammatory responses.  Ongoing studies include examining: 1) the function and phenotypes of microglia/macrophages following acute TBI, and how they contribute to chronic pathologies; 2) the signaling pathways that drive anti-inflammatory activation states in microglia, and whether these pathways can be manipulated after TBI; 3) how age affects microglial responses after TBI.  The group mission is to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying post-traumatic neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and loss of neurological function, and to develop novel treatment strategies for neuroprotection and post-traumatic repair that will translate to the clinic for human head injury.