# Mechanisms of Functional Axon Regeneration

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2022 · $366,406

## Abstract

A fundamental question in neurobiology is how axons respond to injury and disease. Damaged neurons can
sometimes repair themselves by a process called axon regeneration. However, many neurons do not
regenerate, often resulting in permanent deficits following nerve injury. Clinical strategies to repair the injured
nervous system are lacking because the mechanisms that determine whether an injured axon will functionally
regenerate are poorly understood. Therefore, determining the mechanisms that regulate individual components
of the regeneration response, including those that determine whether an injured axon will regenerate and
whether it will reform functional synapses (functional axon regeneration), is critical to understanding how to
improve functional recovery after injury. To reach this goal we are investigating how a number of genes that we
recently identified as regulators of functional axon regeneration determine whether an injured axon will we
repaired. Our approach is to take advantage of the powerful C. elegans model of axon regeneration, which has
a highly conserved genome, is genetically tractable, and in which functional axon regeneration can be studied
in vivo and with single axon resolution, to perform detailed genetic analyses, laser axotomy, imaging, and
behavioral assays. Answering the above questions is essential to our understanding of functional axon
regeneration in the adult nervous system and will significantly enhance our understanding of how to elicit
regeneration and restore function to damaged neurons.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10352316
- **Project number:** 5R01NS110936-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Alexandra Byrne
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $366,406
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-01 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10352316

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10352316, Mechanisms of Functional Axon Regeneration (5R01NS110936-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10352316. Licensed CC0.

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