Promoting retinal ganglion cell survival and optic nerve regeneration by enhancing the axon

神经细胞再生和可塑性的机制是最让我着迷的神经科学领域。我对神经再生感兴趣的一个关键原因是，四年前我自己遭受了一次创伤性脊髓损伤，导致我C6四肢不完全性瘫痪。目前，临床上还没有有效的治疗方法来促进神经元再生，然而，一些潜在的策略正在涌现。视神经是研究神经元再生机制最方便、最有前景的系统之一。虽然当前项目的最终目标是开发治疗失明的方法，但我认为促进生存因子的轴突运输的增强具有巨大的潜力，可以用于其他与神经退化相关的疾病，如脊髓损伤。参与马丁教授和伊娃博士领导的一个项目对我来说是一个很好的机会，可以在一个智力刺激的环境中工作，为开发新的治疗策略做出贡献，这可能对人类有潜在的用途。此外，在这个项目上的工作将使我有机会获得广泛的科学和技术方面的专业知识，无论是在体外还是在体内研究。

Mechanisms underlying neuronal regeneration and plasticity is the field of neuroscience that fascinates me the most. Akey drive for my interest in neural regeneration is that I sustained a traumatic spinal cord injury myself four years ago,which left me C6 incomplete tetraplegic. Currently no effective treatments are clinically used to promote neuronalregeneration, however, several potential strategies are emerging. One of the most convenient and promising systems tostudy neuronal regeneration mechanisms is the optic nerve. Although the ultimate goal of the current project is thedevelopment of treatments for sight loss, I consider the enhancement of the axonal transport of pro-survival factors tohave a great potential to be used in other conditions associated with neurodegeneration, such as spinal cord injury.Working on a project led by Professor Martin and Dr Eva is a great opportunity for me to work in an intellectuallystimulating environment to contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies, which could have a potential foruse in humans. Additionally, working on this project will give me a chance to gain expertise in a wide range of scientifictechniques, implemented in both in vitro and in vivo studies.