Our team
Stuart Allan | Josef Anrather | Kyra Becker | Marion Buckwalter | Kristian Doyle | Mitchell Elkind | Maarten Lansberg | Barry McColl | Andreas Meisel | Maria Moro | Craig Smith
Stuart M Allan
European Coordinator
Institution: The University of Manchester, UK
Email: stuart.allan@manchester.ac.uk
Stuart's profile
Stuart’s main interest is in understanding the contribution of inflammation to stroke.
He and colleagues in Manchester first identified the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) as a key mediator of neuronal injury following stroke and therefore a promising therapeutic target.
Ongoing research combines preclinical and clinical studies, with the aim of further elucidating the role of inflammation in stroke.
Current projects are focused on thrombo-inflammatory processes in the acute phase of ischaemic stroke, developing regenerative therapies for both ischaemic stroke and intracerebral haemorrhage, and understanding how immune/inflammatory changes contribute to vascular dementia.
Marion S Buckwalter
North American Coordinator
Institution: Stanford University, USA Email: marion.buckwalter@stanford.edu
Marion's profile
Marion’s laboratory focuses on neuroinflammation and stroke outcomes, in particular on mouse and human studies of delayed post-stroke cognitive impairment and vascular dementia.
She also studies the intersection of vascular risk factors such as age and obesity on neuroinflammation and stroke outcomes, and on how brain astrocytes and microglia orchestrate the neuroinflammatory response to stroke.
Marion is an Associate Professor who also works with intensive care patients who have had strokes and other neurologic diseases.
Her laboratory focuses on neuroinflammation and stroke outcomes, in particular on mouse and human studies of delayed post-strke cognitive impairment and vascular dementia.
She also studies the intersection of vascular risk factors such as age and obesity on neuroinflammation and stroke outcomes, and on how brain astrocytes and microglia orchestrate the neuroinflammatory response to stroke.
Josef's profile
Josef is a preclinical scientist who has been involved in studying cerebrovascular regulation and ischemic brain injury for the past 20 years.
At Weill Cornell Medical College, his research has focused on the role of neuroinflammation in the mechanisms of cerebral ischemia and became interested in the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), iNOS, COX2, CD36, and Toll-like receptors in ischemic brain damage. Josef also has a longstanding interest in genomic and epigenomic regulation of the inflammatory and ischemic response.
A major focus of his laboratory is to elucidate the brain-immune interactions in cerebral ischemia and how this immune response can be harnessed to make help tissue repair after ischemic brain injury. The laboratory was among the first to describe a role for the microbiota-gut-brain axis in stroke, and this remains a continuing area of ongoing investigations.
Kristian's profile
Kristian Doyle developed therapeutics for stroke for his PhD. His postdoctoral training under Marion Buckwalter saw him investigate links between the inflammatory response to stroke and the development of post-stroke dementia.
After receiving a K99/R00 from the National Institutes of Health to investigate inflammation and delayed cognitive dysfunction after stroke, he started his own lab, which investigates the role of the immune system in recovery from stroke, looking at the links between chronic inflammation and cell death to the parenchyma surrounding stroke lesions.
Maarten's profile
Maarten is a Professor of Neurology with research interests in the design and conduct of clinical stroke trials and the use of imaging for patient selection.
He played a lead role in the DEFUSE 3 trial, which demonstrated that patients selected with MR or CT perfusion imaging benefit from endovascular therapy up to 16 hours after onset. He is also the lead investigator on several stroke recovery trials.
Barry's profile
Barry investigated APOE polymorphism and the neuropathology of cerebrovascular and Alzheimer’s disease in his PhD before undertaking postdoctoral work in how inflammatory conditions originating outside the CNS (e.g. infection, metabolic disease) modify neuroimmune and glial responses in the brain.
He established an independent research group at The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh before joining the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh as one of the founding programme leaders.
Andreas Meisel
Institution: Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany Email: andreas.meisel@charite.de
Andreas' profile
Andreas is a Professor of Neurology, Director of the Center for Stroke Research Berlin and Chairman of the Berlin Stroke Alliance.
His group is active in experimental and clinical stroke research unravelling mechanisms of stroke induced immune changes and its functional relevance for post-stroke complications as well as brain repair.
The group is developing novel diagnostic biomarkers and treatments for post-stroke complications. He aims to establish comprehensive care approaches for stroke survivors in the chronic phase of the disorder.
Maria Moro
Institution: Spanish National Cardiovascular Research Centre, Spain Email: mamoro@cnic.es
Maria's profile
Maria leads the Neurovascular Pathophysiology Group at the Spanish Centre for Cardiovascular Research and co-leads the Neurovascular Diseases Group at the Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre.
Maria’s group studies key questions in stroke and vascular cognitive impairment by applying different models and novel technologies, with the final aim to translate findings to patients.
The laboratory has established relevant paradigms of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and of post-stroke dementia.
In acute stroke, Maria’s group has contributed to the clarification of the actions of several receptors/molecules, as well as to the elucidation of mechanisms of central and systemic inflammation and immunothrombosis, and excitotoxicity, among others.
Craig J Smith
Institution: The University of Manchester and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Email: craig.smith-2@manchester.ac.uk
Craig's profile
Craig is a Professor of Stroke Medicine whose translational research addresses the role of infection, inflammation and immune-responses in cerebrovascular disease.
A major focus is how infection and the immune system contributes to the risk, pathophysiology and clinical outcomes of acute stroke. His research spans experimental stroke, cohort studies, mixed methods, meta-analyses and clinical trials.
Mitchell S V Elkind
External advisor
Chief Science Officer, Brain Health and Stroke American Heart Association