Biomaterials for spinal cord injury repair at Rensselaer

Profs. Deanna Thompson and Ryan Gilbert received a $250K award from the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Program from the New York Department of Health. This funding will support Rensselaer’s efforts in biomaterials for neural engineering. Specifically, this contract will provide funding for a rapid, high content screening platform to analyze stem cells and primary cell behavior within 3D biomaterials. The seven color confocal and objective module with corresponding camera will allow for rapid imaging of large areas of cell-laden materials. Additional funding for the Gilbert research program will support efforts to develop translational approaches to guide axons and modify astrocytes following spinal cord injury.