At OHSU, one of the nation’s largest and best-equipped communities of brain scientists and clinicians is positioned to lead the way toward a new era of hope and healing in neurological health care.
OHSU’s neuroscience research vision is to stimulate bold discovery and accelerate breakthroughs into new and better treatments across the lifespan. Our unique resources and experts are addressing diseases that impact people at every stage of life, from prenatal development through old age.
Under the primary direction of five top faculty leaders, OHSU's neuroscience inititative focuses on three main areas of brain health.
NEURODEGENERATION
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s are caused by the progressive degradation of nerve cells. OHSU researchers are probing the causes of nerve cell damage and death to identify innovative ways to halt and reverse this debilitating process.
NEURODEVELOPMENT
Genetics, environmental exposures and other stressors during the brain’s early development can lay the groundwork for a host of neurological disorders that strike patients across the lifespan. From autism and ADHD in children to schizophrenia in young adults to Alzheimer’s in old age, OHSU neuroscientists are revealing the common developmental causes of brain disorders and exploring new ways to prevent them.
NEURO-REPAIR
Advances in neurosurgery, regenerative medicine and basic neuroscience are opening the door for an exciting new era of hope for people who have experienced brain or nerve damage from strokes or traumatic injury. Our neuroscientists and neurosurgeons are pursuing innovative new approaches to restore lost function and to protect against future damage.
Over more than a decade, OHSU has strategically invested in its faculty of exceptional neuroscientists and clinicians, and in a research infrastructure that stands among the best in the nation. This has resulted in a number of firsts:
1st Comprehensive Stroke Center in the Pacific Northwest
1st neuronal stem cell transplantation
1st U.S. hospital to perform awake and asleep deep brain stimulation
1st pediatric hospital on the West Coast with an intraoperative MRI
Philanthropic support provides scientists with the flexibility to innovate, take smart risks and pursue their boldest ideas. Many neuroscience projects are too innovative and entrepreneurial to qualify for traditional federal research grants. Philanthropy allows researchers to leverage OHSU’s exceptional resources to generate truly original knowledge that leads to new treatments.
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