item 284
[29-06-2010 to 31-07-2010]
News Item:
£318,000 Wellcome Grant
Dr Gareth Miles and Professor Keith Sillar have recently been awarded a Wellcome Trust grant for a project entitled "Nitric oxide signalling and the modulation of mammalian spinal motor networks".
For almost a century we have known that the mammalian spinal cord contains networks of neurons which control locomotion, but our understanding of these networks is still very limited. In order to design new treatments for injuries or diseases affecting spinal cord functions we must first understand how the "healthy" spinal cord controls movement. It is therefore important that we determine how neurons in the spinal cord come together to form a "control centre" for locomotion.
Dr Gareth Miles and Prof Keith Sillar have been awarded a £318,000 grant from the Wellcome Trust to try to provide some of this important knowledge by investigating how a particular signalling molecule, nitric oxide (NO), is involved in the communication between spinal neurons and how this may help to control locomotion. Dr Miles and Prof Sillar expect their findings to significantly advance knowledge of spinal motor networks and to improve understanding of NO-mediated signalling throughout the brain.
contact: Dr Gareth Miles