Dr. S. Thomas Carmichael, UCLA professor of neurology, has received the 2018 Bernard Sanberg Memorial Award for Brain Repair for his career-long work in stroke recovery mechanisms.
Carmichael, who is chair of the neurology department and who has been UCLA faculty since 2001, has combined genetic, molecular, cellular and neurobehavioral approaches in his study of post-stroke brain repair. Dr. Li-Ru Zhao, an associate professor in the department of neurosurgery at SUNY Upstate Medical University and a previous Bernard Sanberg Memorial Award recipient, called Carmichael’s research “extraordinary” and “highly significant.”
The American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair cited Carmichael’s work in demonstrating that the adult brain can form new connections, called "axonal sprouting neurons," in areas where neurons have been damaged by stroke. Through Carmichael’s work, axonal sprouting has emerged as an important component of the central nervous system's response to injury, the society said.
In addition, Carmichael’s work has improved the survival of transplanted neural stem cells for stroke repair and clarified which drugs may most benefit the brain following stroke.
The American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair announced the award at its 25th annual conference last month in Florida. The Sanberg award, given annually since 2000, recognizes an individual who has made outstanding research contributions in the field of neural therapy and repair.