Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
The goal of the Cavalli laboratory is to understand how injured peripheral nerves regenerate, and to apply that information to improve nerve repair in both the peripheral and central nervous systems. Our work has implications for treating spinal cord injury, stroke and many neurodegenerative diseases, including metabolic diseases such as diabetes. The ongoing research efforts in my laboratory explore the injury-induced molecular pathways elicited in sensory neurons that enable axon regeneration. We also explore the multicellular mechanisms guiding nerve repair. We are especially interested in understanding the mechanisms by which the neuronal microenvironment, including satellite glial cells, macrophages, mesenchymal cells and meningeal cells contributes to neural repair. Uniquely, our approach bridges the gap between cell biology and neuroscience to conduct a detailed study of the cellular and molecular biology underlying nerve repair.