Our pre-clinical research

We are conducting exciting and innovative pre-clinical (laboratory-based) research in parallel with clinical research with patients. This makes discoveries that can help people in the future more likely.  

Pre-clinical research is a critical part of better understanding how post-stroke inflammation and immune changes are associated with post-stroke cognitive decline. In the laboratory, researchers can use models of stroke to answer questions that can’t be answered through clinical research.

For example, scientists may grow a particular sort of cell damaged by a stroke in a dish and test it to see whether a newly developed treatment helps prevent the cells from dying.  

What we are doing in the lab

Our researchers have previously shown that there are important roles for both the innate (rapidly responding) and adaptive (memory) parts of the immune system after a stroke. They have also shown that pre- and post-stroke inflammation and infection can affect outcomes.

However, scientists haven’t done much specific research to examine the link between inflammation and cognitive decline.

The pre-clinical work of Stroke-IMPaCT is focused on three main research areas. We want to:

• identify and define the key ways in which a stroke changes the immune system in our laboratory models of stroke;
• find out what features of a stroke causes it to change the immune system and affect immune responses;
• better understand and investigate how an infection after stroke may worsen post-stroke cognitive decline.

Some of our lab research involves animals. We follow stringent rules and processes to ensure this is carried out as ethically as possible. Find out more about The University of Manchester’s approach to animal research.