Directory Entry For: Wei Wu

Biography

The research of Wei Wu, PhD focuses on developing breakthrough therapies for spinal cord injury, using the latest advancements in technology to address neural repair and functional integration. The significance and potential impact of this transformative research have been recognized through the support of National Institutes of Health grants totaling $6.9 million.

Research Interests

The overarching theme of my research is the interaction of neural circuitries in the central nervous system (CNS) for motor function and their role in modulating functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). My research interest is to develop therapeutic strategies by protecting, regulating, and inducing new neural circuitries in the CNS for the treatment of spinal cord injury. My long-term goal is to translate effective treatments from animal models to humans. To reach this goal, three main paths of research are being conducted, including neuroprotection of residential neural circuitries using nanotechnology in the acute phase, improvement of corticospinal remodeling using a polypharmacological strategy in the subacute phase, and reprogramming the inhibitory glial scar into functional neurons in the chronic phase. My research has been published in journals including Cell Stem Cell, Biomaterials, JCI Insight, eLife, Cell Metabolism, Nature Communications, Journal of Neuroscience, and Journal of Neurotrauma. My discoveries have also been extensively reported by the news media, such as EurekAlert and NIH.

I have 18 years of experience in the SCI field, including a 2-year residency in a clinical spinal cord injury center in China. I have 4 years of training in biomedical engineering and neural imaging. I have a proven track record of developing and testing hypothesis-driven repair strategies in the SCI field. I apply multidisciplinary approaches in my research, including novel SCI models, optogenetics, electrophysiology, behavioral, in vivo reprogramming, nanotechnology, in vivo imaging, cellular and molecular biology, histology, and genetic approaches. I also actively participate as a judge of the work of other scientists in the field.  I have been invited to evaluate the work of others by 14 journals, including the reputable NPJ Regenerative Medicine (Nature), Scientific Report (Nature), Journal of Neurotrauma, EBioMedicine, Neural Regeneration Research, and CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics.

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