The goal of the R35 funding mechanism is to help investigators make meaningful contributions to neuroscience by providing greater funding stability, flexibility and support for their overall research project. This allows investigators to conduct long-term, rewarding research and provides flexibility to pivot as needed to emerging and timely topics. This prestigious research program award, which started in 2017, is for investigators that have a history of funding with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and stroke (NINDS).
The primary goal of Dr. Cavalli’s research is to unravel the molecular events that dictate the regenerative response of neurons in the peripheral nervous system and to relate this information to the lack of regenerative capacity in the central nervous system. Indeed, there are currently no therapies to restore mobility and sensation following spinal cord injury or vision after optic nerve damage.
Dr. Cavalli’s team will combine single-cell approaches and epigenomic approaches in mouse and human sensory neurons to understand the neuronal and non-neuronal mechanisms orchestrating nerve repair. This multifaceted research program may lead to novel strategies that increase the extent of axon regeneration, which may improve recovery after nervous system injuries.