2024 Zusman Mini-Course

About the 2024 Patricia Levy Zusman Tools and Rigor in Regeneration Research Mini-Course 

Neural regeneration research has a long history that dates back almost 100 years to the days of Tello and Cajal who both proposed the grafting of peripheral nerves into the central nervous system as a means of promoting axonal regeneration and overall plasticity. Throughout its history, neural regeneration has been a challenging discipline in terms of modeling and rigorous assessment of plasticity. Rigorously modeling the injured nervous system is a challenge given its innate complexity. Further, repair/regeneration of the nervous system requires a multidisciplinary approach, along with the integration of multiple tools and many areas of expertise (e.g., biology, engineering, immunology…), making it an undoubtedly complex discipline. One of the most common problems seen in the field since its inception has been the empirical testing of neural regeneration, particularly both at the anatomical and the functional level. Ultimately, the complex nature of the nervous system and the neural regeneration field requires a level of consideration from multiple disciplines in order to generate investigative principles that lead to scientific rigor and reproducibility.

Our mission is to be an educational hub for trainees and early-stage investigators interested in learning historical principles as well as modern tools for the rigorous analysis of neural regeneration.