# Dissecting the dynamics of vertebrate brain regeneration

> **NIH NIH F32** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $65,310

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Traumatic injury to the adult human brain results in life-long loss of function. By contrast, the adult zebrafish
brain has a striking ability to efficiently regenerate after injury. The molecular mechanisms controlling this
phenomenon are unclear and understudied. Understanding the events that lead to activation and migration of
stem cells during zebrafish brain regeneration is challenged by imprecise injury models, complexity of the
brain regions traditionally studied and limited platforms for live imaging. This proposed research will establish
the zebrafish olfactory bulb (OB) as a model for brain regeneration. The OB has a great capacity for
regeneration and neuroplasticity, contains large and morphologically distinct axons, controls behavioral
outputs, and is anatomically and functionally conserved among vertebrates. The specific aims of this
proposal seek to (1) genetically ablate regions of the zebrafish OB and dissect dynamics of cell biology
during regeneration via live imaging; (2) identify the transcriptional programs that control the activation and
progression of neuronal progenitors along separate lineages during brain regeneration; and (3) identify and
interrogate signaling pathways required for brain regeneration. Ultimately, the biological events discovered in
this proposal may be potential targets for therapeutic strategies in human brain injury and stroke.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10065769
- **Project number:** 1F32HD103376-01
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Leslie Slota-Burtt
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $65,310
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10065769

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10065769, Dissecting the dynamics of vertebrate brain regeneration (1F32HD103376-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10065769. Licensed CC0.

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