My scientific interests have been focused on developing a number of microsurgical techniques in our animal modeling lab, including clinically relevant models of subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, blast brain injury, middle cerebral artery occlusion, transient forebrain occlusion, spinal cord injury and genetic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. By incorporating with molecular biology and cell culture techniques we examine the CNS response to acute injury. In particular, our laboratory examines the role of microglial activation and the endogenous CNS inflammatory response in exacerbating secondary injury following acute brain insult. Much of our work is dedicated to investigating cellular responses to injury with the ultimate goal of exploring new therapeutic interventions in the clinical setting of CNS injuries such as stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, head injury and chronic inflammation related CNS diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. As a faculty member in the Brain Injury Translational Research Center, I play a central role in training medical students, housestaff, and junior faculty, helping their research career development and coordinating all aspects of the projects.