CEN scientist Ling Cao receives NIH funding to study the role of CNS microglia in a mouse model of AIDS-induced neuropathy

Ling Cao, Ph.D., a neuroimmunologist in the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine¹s Department of Biomedical Sciences, has received an R21 award to further her research into mechanisms that lead to neuropathic pain.

The two-year award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke totals more than $330,000 dollars.

Dr. Cao is focusing her research on the interactions between immune cells, glial cells in the nervous system and their interactions with nerve cells and neurons that relay and process sensory information including abnormal and chronic pain states.

The funded work will extend her research into an animal model of distal symmetrical polyneuropathy (DSP), the most common form of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection-associated peripheral neuropathy. By better understanding the interactions between viral infection and glial and neuronal cells, novel therapies can be developed to prevent or reverse severe chronic pain associated with HIV/AIDs.

Dr. Cao is a founding member of the Center of Excellence in the Neurosciences at the University of New England and teaches in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Her research involves both medical students and undergraduates from the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr.  Cao is also collaborating on this project with Dr. William R. Green's lab in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dartmouth Medical School.

 

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