'Using the immune system to cure traumatic brain injury'

The PhD project will be focused on several main questions:
1) How does brain damage occur during traumatic brain injury? To what extent does the process require the presence of inflammation? Which local cell types are participating in the injury?
2) Can we block brain damage in mice under a therapeutic setting? Here we will test whether giving our therapeutic agent in the hours after traumatic brain injury (i.e., a clinically-relevant setting) is able to reduce and reverse brain damage. We will focus on brain pathology and on behaviour/cognition. If needed we will modify the treatment to make it more suitable to a clinical context
3) Does our treatment to expand brain Tregs prevent brain damage or enhance the repair process?
4) What are the molecular mediators that allow brain Tregs to reduce and reverse brain damage? Is it due to anti-inflammatory cytokines? Interactions with microglia or astrocytes?