Dr. Jianli Sun awarded $400,839 NIH research grant

Dr. Jianli Sun, a University researcher, has been awarded a three-year $400,839 grant from the National Institute of Health for his studies into the neurodegenerative disease of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – the leading genetic cause of infantile mortality.

Dr. Sun, who is the Director of the Cell Electrophysiology Core (CE) Facility in the University’s Delaware Institute for Science and Technology, will use the funding to compare the brain of mice that have the mutated gene that leads to the SMA disease with brains of normal mice.

The research will be done through the utilization of the University’s magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capabilities as well as by employing electrophysiological techniques in the CE Core. The work will focus on the cerebellum – which is the brain’s motor control center.

Dr. Sun will use MRI to uncover SMA-related defects in the structure of the mice brain neural circuits and the fiber connections therein, as well SMA-related impact in other regions of the nervous system.

Dr. Sun will also apply electrophysiology tools to measure the activity level and functioning of neurons in the cerebellum in SMA mice as compared to normal mice.

Because the most significant feature of the disease is the loss of spinal motor neurons, SMA is a motor neuron disease like ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Dr. Sun’s hypothesis is that in SMA, alterations in the neurons and neural circuits of the cerebellum decreases cerebellar output and alter descending motor commands to the spinal cord, contributing to neuropathology and motor system dysfunction. Uncovering the neuropathology in the brain of SMA may lead to novel strategies of effective treatment.

Dr. Christine Charvet, a former Del State assistant professor of Psychology, is a co-investigator on the research. Dr. Charvet – who left DSU this academic year to take a position at Auburn University – has provided some MRI expertise on the project.