Harald Lund

The entire central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS) are shielded from potentially neurotoxic molecules in the circulation by the blood-brain and blood-nerve barriers. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG), which are collections of cell bodies of sensory neurons located alongside the spinal cord, are highly vascularized organs that lack a conventional blood-nerve barrier. As a consequence, the DRG experiences a continual influx of proteins and macromolecules from the blood, raising an important question: How is barrier integrity maintained to protect the DRG from potentially toxic molecules?This project aims to address that question by providing a map of the molecular and cellular interactions that regulate the blood-DRG barrier during homeostasis and how this system is dysregulated during disease. I will address these aims by using mouse models of chemotherapy and inflammation, combined with cutting-edge sequencing technologies and functional studies.I anticipate that this work will help design novel therapies for disorders of the sensory nervous system, in particular inflammatory neuropathies and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, two conditions leading to significant morbidity which currently lack effective therapies.