Mission Connect
Mission Connect is a.collaborative research program focused on reversing the consequences of spinal cord injury, brain injury, and neurological disorders. “Scientists United to Repair Neurological Trauma through Collaborative Scientific Discovery” is the statement that summarizes their vision. Pramod Dash, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Neurosurgery and Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, is the current Director of Mission Connect.
Established in 1997, Mission Connect recognizes the value of bringing together the outstanding resources of scientists and university infrastructure in the Texas Medical Center and surrounding areas. Led by TIRR Foundation, over forty neuroscientists, physicians, and medical investigators from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC), Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Rice University, Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin participate in the collaboration.
Scientists and physicians from the Vivian L. Smith Center for Neurologic Research, Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, are active participants in Mission Connect and Mission Connect-funded research. They include Qilin Cao, Guy Clifton, Pramod Dash, Raymond Grill, Georgene Hergenroeder, Dong Kim, Nobuhide Kobori, Alex Valadka, Rong Yu, and Fangyi Zhang. As part of its efforts to advance research for spinal cord injury, brain injury, and neurological disorders, Mission Connect awards grants to its partnering scientists to undertake innovative research projects. These seed funds enable scientists to obtain the preliminary data needed to apply for major grants. A number of grants from NIH and other major donors have resulted from these Mission Connect grants. Recently Mission Connect researchers (Alex Valadka is the principal investigator) successfully secured a $35 million dollar consortium grant from the Department of Defense to explore the pathophysiology of mild traumatic brain injury.
In 2008, Mission Connect provided major funding to set up the Mission Connect Center at UTHSCH. With these resources, Dr. Qilin Cao, was recruited to explore the therapeutic utility of oligodendrocyte-restricted precursor cells, a type of stem cell, to treat people with spinal cord injury. Dr. Cao’s focus is on developing strategies to remyelinate injured spinal cord. These strategies include genetic and molecular approaches to enhance functional remyelination after spinal cord injury in order to improve motor recovery. Dr. Cao was a nationally recognized and highly successful scientist in Kentucky before moving to Houston.
