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Noble-Haeusslein, Linda

Linda J Noble

Professor, Professor of Neurology
Department of Psychology, Department of Neurology


The Noble-Haeusslein laboratory studies cellular and molecular determinants of recovery after traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.

linda.noble@austin.utexas.edu

Phone: 512-495-5250

Office Location
SEA 5.226

Postal Address
108 E DEAN KEETON ST
AUSTIN, TX 78712

My laboratory is focused on translational research in the field of neurotrauma. Our overarching long-term objective is to develop targeted therapeutics that will improve recovery after traumatic spinal cord and pediatric brain injuries. This research relies on cellular, molecular, and behavioral tools to identify key mechanisms underlying early cell injury that impair recovery processes in preclinical models of neurotrauma. This multifaceted approach has led to the discovery of new pharmacologic and stem-cell based therapeutics that ameliorate several key features of spinal cord injury; namely, bladder and locomotor dysfunction and central neuropathic pain. 

Similar progress has been made in studies of traumatic injury to the developing murine brain. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are the leading cause of death and disability in children and there is growing concern that even mild forms of TBIs including concussions may have long-term adverse consequences. We have found that age at time of injury is predictive of recovery in brain-injured rodents, with younger ages showing less resilience to the injury with more profound long-term deficits in cognition and sociability. These studies have led to the discovery of unique, age-dependent immune-based signatures, driven in part by polymorphonuclear leukocytes and Syk signaling, that give rise to long-term cognitive/social deficits. Importantly, these deficits can be rescued by either genetic or pharmacologic approaches that target the early innate immune response.

Most recently, we have turned our attention to a new preclinical model of traumatic injury to the ferret brain, where there will be opportunity to study how a young gyrencephalic brain responds to trauma, focusing on mechanisms underlying barrier disruption and its regional specificity, indices of early and delayed cell injury, and early determinants of behavioral recovery.

 

PUBLICATIONS OVER THE PAST 5 YEARS

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/bibliography/linda.noble.1/bibliography/public/

 

 

 

 

Behavioral Neuroscience

Neurodegenerative Disease & Injury

Institute for Neuroscience