SUMMARY
The research interests of Isobel A. Scarisbrick, Ph.D., include discovery of new targets for regeneration of the injured and diseased central nervous system. She places emphasis on developing new methods to treat traumatic injury to the spinal cord and neuroinflammatory conditions affecting myelin such as multiple sclerosis. Dr. Scarisbrick's research enhances the innate capacity of the central nervous system to regenerate through pharmacological, metabolic and exercise-related interventions. Her lab is using gene editing approaches to improve stem cell therapies for reconstruction of the neuronal and glial elements of neural circuits needed to restore central nervous system function.
Within the Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center, Dr. Scarisbrick leads the neurological rehabilitation program, which focuses on neural repair and regeneration.
In her research laboratory, Dr. Scarisbrick leads a multidisciplinary team to discover new targets for central nervous system regeneration and rehabilitation. These studies incorporate neuroscience, cell biology, neuroimmunology and neuropharmacology. Dr. Scarisbrick discovered new roles for serine proteases and protease activated receptors in neural regeneration. These new roles for activated receptors include stem cell expansion, lipid and cholesterol biosynthesis, synaptic sprouting, and myelin regeneration.
Dr. Scarisbrick's neural repair research has been continually funded by federal, private and nonprofit research awards. This funding includes grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Neilsen Foundation, the Chris and Dana Reeve Foundation, Get Up Stand Up to Cure Paralysis, the Minnesota Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Grant Program, and Regenerative Medicine Minnesota.
Dr. Scarisbrick is a globally recognized scientist credited with several important scientific breakthroughs related to mechanisms of neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, astrogliosis and myelin homeostasis. These research efforts have resulted in 11 issued patents and significant publications in high-impact journals.
Focus areas
- Spinal cord injury pathogenic mechanisms and new reparative interventions.
- Mechanisms of central nervous system demyelination, neuroprotection and myelin regeneration, with a focus on restoration of function in multiple sclerosis, spinal cord problems and traumatic brain injury.
- Neural regeneration through neural stem cell engraftment.
- Physiological mechanisms governing myelin regeneration.
- Mechanisms of astrogliosis in the context of neural injury and repair.
- Neurorehabilitation approaches to foster neural regeneration.
- Signaling mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration and neuroregeneration.
- Role of cholesterol and other lipids in central nervous system regeneration, including axons and myelin membranes.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Scarisbrick studies cellular and molecular mechanisms of neural injury and repair. She has identified several new targets for therapies to promote regeneration and restore function after spinal cord injury and in the context of demyelinating disease, including multiple sclerosis.
In addition to new druggable receptor targets, Dr. Scarisbrick's lab team identified key lifestyle interventions, including diet and exercise training as key factors that regulate neural repair in the intact and injured central nervous system. Each of these approaches is being studied alone and in combination to improve people's functional outcomes.
Professional highlights
- Member, Spinal Cord and Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council, Minnesota Office of Higher Education, 2015-present.
- Program director, Regenerative Sciences Ph.D. track, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Mayo Clinic, 2020-2023.
- Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences Outstanding Physician-Scientist Educator, Mayo Clinic, 2018.
- Translational Research or Human Neuroscience Studies in Spinal Cord Injury Award, American Spinal Cord Injury Association meeting, 2018.
- E.K. Frey — E. Werle and Henner Graeff Promotion Prize, E. Werle and Henner Graeff Foundations, 2015.
- Basic Science Research Award, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 2002.
- Weil Award for best paper on experimental neuropathology (honorable mention), American Association of Neuropathologists, 2001.
- Genentech Research Award, American Association of Anatomists, 2000.
- C.P. Leblond Research Award, Canadian Association of Anatomists, 1987.