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18 | S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 understand the basic science of how the brain works in order to fully address the diseases that affect brain health," Al- ford says. Research in the anatomy and cell biology labs already has yielded discoveries that could change the course of some of the most devastating degenerative diseases in future clinical applications. For example, Ernesto Bongarzone, PhD, and Maria Givogri, PhD, comprise one of only a dozen research groups in the nation to receive a 2017 Catalyst Award from the Dr. Ralph and Marian Falk Medical Research Trust Awards program. The $300,000, one-year award will further their research on turning naturally occurring extracellular vesicles—tiny "bubbles" given off by a range of cell types —into targeted delivery vehicles for drugs to treat multiple sclerosis. The team is also working on a genet- ic modification model for Krabbe disease, a disorder that destroys the protective coating (myelin) of nerve cells in the brain and throughout the nervous system. "Bongarzone is using animal models to inject a virus that carries a replacement gene for the faulty gene in the brain," says Alford. "The process temporarily cures Krabbe disease in ani- mals and holds hope for the future." Researchers such as Mary Jo LaDu, PhD, and others in the department are tackling the elusive cure for Alzheimer's disease. LaDu has developed animal models that accelerate degeneration in mice brains, focusing on the properties and interactions between two pro- teins that are genetically, pathologically and biochemically linked to Alzheimer's disease: amyloid-β (Aβ) and apolipoprotein E (apoE). The models also provide a testing ground for compounds that may prevent or even reverse the damage and provide insight into the gender-related risk of developing the disease. Other researchers in anatomy and cell biology, such as Sarah Lutz, PhD, and Leon Tai, PhD, are investigating whether inflammation in the blood-brain barrier might be involved in a number of neurodegen- erative diseases of the mind; while Kuei Tseng, MD, PhD, is collabo- rating with colleagues in psychiatry to assess whether cannabinoids modify developmental changes in rat models as they go through adolescence. "In our department, we're working with a range of disciplines as a bridge between fundamental and clinical science," says Alford. Neurology and rehabilitation: Tackling brain disease with big data TO STIMULATE INNOVATIVE RESEARCH and help scientists uncover new cures for diseases like epilepsy, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and brain tumors, the neurology and rehabilitation department last year launched the NeuroRepository, a one-of-a-kind human brain tissue bank and research database. Located at the NeuroPsychiatric Institute, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the NeuroRepository houses tissue specimens linked to clinical, radiological, physiological, histological and molecular/genomic data—"big data" that requires advanced computing hardware and software. "The tissue plus its data set provide a basis for discovery not available through any other regular tissue bank or data warehouse and is available not only to Illinois Medicine researchers, but also to those across the country," says Jeffrey Loeb, MD, PhD, John S. Garvin Endowed Chair and head of neurology and rehabilitation. The NeuroRepository has already yielded some transformational insights. "Using MRI technology, we have a new way to see epilepsy in the human brain by identifying a unique metabolic signature that's associated with the epileptic brain tissue, which causes seizures," says Loeb. "One of the biggest challenges in epilepsy is in diagnosis. With this new biomarker, we should be able to detect very small regions of epileptic activity—smaller than a single square centimeter—and we can do it noninvasively." Loeb and his colleagues also have used the NeuroRepository to uncover a new kind of micro- lesion present in epilepsy. "Using mathematical models, we were able to predict and then confirm the existence of the lesions, which will help us understand why some areas of the brain become epileptic and some don't," says Loeb. The department is working to turn newfound knowledge about "The brain is the most complicated machine of which we are aware on this planet. In the last 30 years, we've discovered more about the brain than mankind had previously learned throughout history, and we're still just scratching the surface." — Simon Alford, department head and the Mary & Raymond Nester Sweeney Professor of Basic Sciences