Exploratory Discussion Meeting June 11th, 2020
Dan Lewis Foundation

11:00-4:00 EST

A meeting of the Dan Lewis Foundation for Brain Regeneration Research was held via Zoom Conference on Thursday, June 11th, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST. The primary purposes of this meeting were to promote collaboration between leading scientists in the area of cortical regeneration and to begin planning a research agenda to accomplish the mission of the Foundation. That mission—to identify new biomedical approaches that promote neural regeneration, axonal growth, and synaptogenesis to improve the lives of persons with moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries and their families—was affirmed by group consensus.


Invited scientists attending as presenters and/or discussants were David Margulies, M.D. Sudhir Agrawal, Ph.D., Mark Bear, Ph.D., Randall Carpenter, M.D., Adam Cohen, Ph.D., Graham Dempsey, Ph.D.,  Kevin Eggan, Ph.D., David Gerber, Ph.D.,  Alan Kopin, M.D., and Stephen Strittmatter, M.D., Ph.D.  David Margulies ably moderated this meeting, kept the agenda flowing, and allowed ample room for discussion after each of the thought- provoking presentations which are very briefly described below. 


Hal Lewis gave an overview of the causes, the biomechanical and the biochemical effects of brain injury, particularly moderate and severe brain injury. Hal also provided a synopsis of his son Dan’s story (which can also be accessed elsewhere on our site).


Mark Bear spoke about regulation of cortical synaptogenesis particularly in the visual cortex of infra-human study subjects.


Stephen Strittmatter’s presentation explored molecular restraints on axon plasticity and  neural repair;  and explained some of his lab’s findings regarding promotion of axonal growth and sprouting in the spinal cords of infra-human study subjects.


Kevin Eggan gave an overview of progress in induced pluripotent stem cells and the promise of CNS neuronal cultures. He also spoke about the plausibility of creating useful models for the study of TBI and response to potential pharmaceutical treatment of TBI.


Adam Cohen spoke about cutting-edge technologies in the biosciences with particular attention to optogenetic tools that provide new abilities to study cortex and cortical neurons.


Sudhir Agrawal presented an overview of strategies for using anti-sense oligoneucleotide (ASO) therapies targeted to the central nervous system. He also talked about how research labs and biomedical companies can and have worked efficiently together to develop curative pharmaceuticals for many neurological disorders, particularly those for which specific genetic targets can be identified.


Alan Kopin provided a case study that illustrated how genomic analysis can lead to “down regulation” of a specific gene that is implicated in the neurodevelopmental disorder of a 9 year old boy.


Following this set of presentations, group discussion focused on envisioning and planning a research agenda to find therapeutics to improve outcomes for individuals in the chronic phase of post-TBI recovery. It was generally agreed that a plausible research-based path forward could be formulated. This was a very exciting and forward looking meeting—a meeting in which the collaborative and enthusiastic atmosphere lent promise to reaching the Foundations desired outcomes.  We want to express our deep gratitude to each of these renowned and highly respected scientists who contributed to the success of this meeting. A second meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Foundation, with additional invited participants, will be held during late July or the first part of August.


A gold trophy with a laurel wreath around it.
By Dan Lewis Foundation April 2, 2025
For the third consecutive year, the Dan Lewis Foundation for Brain Regeneration is proud to announce the DLF Prize competition. The 2025 DLF Prize, a $20,000 award, will recognize an outstanding early career scientist (2 to 5 years post-doc) conducting innovative research in neuroscience, pharmacology, or biotechnology. This prestigious prize honors researchers whose work aligns with the DLF mission to drive breakthroughs in neural regeneration and repair. The current research priorities of the DLF are: Pharmacological Reactivation of Neural Repair: Research into pharmacological methods of reactivating or augmenting synaptogenesis, neurogenesis or axonal repair. Cell-Based Cortical Repair: Investigating the potential of derived cortical neurons to restore function in damaged cortical regions. Transcriptomics of Neural Recovery: Characterizing transcriptomic profiles of cortical neurons in the recovery phase following brain injury to identify pathways that drive repair. Molecular Inhibitor Targeting: Advancing anti-sense oligonucleotides (ASO’s) or small-molecule therapeutics designed to downregulate inhibitors of neural regeneration in the cortex or spinal cord. Application for the 2025 DLF Prize can be made by going to our website— danlewisfoundation.org —and clicking on the Tab “ 2025 DLF Prize ”. This will bring you into the application portal. The application portal opened in March, 2025 and will remain open through May 31st. Once in the portal, you will find complete information about the DLF prize, eligibility requirements, and an application form which can be filled in and submitted online. The winner of the 2023 DLF Prize, Dr. Roy Maimon, continues his research indicating that downregulation of PTBP1, an RNA-binding protein, can convert glial cells into neurons in the adult brain (Maimon et al. 2024) .* Dr. Maimon, currently a post-doc at the University of California, San Diego is currently interviewing for a faculty position at several prominent neuroscience departments. The winner of the 2024 DLF Prize, Dr. William Zeiger is a physician-scientist in the Department of Neurology, Movement Disorders Division, at UCLA. Dr. Zeiger has expertise in interrogating neural circuits using a classic “lesional neurology” approach. He states, “Our lab remains focused on understanding how neural circuits become dysfunctional after lesions to the cortex and on investigating novel circuit-based approaches to reactivate and restore damaged cortex”. * Maimon, Roy, Carlos Chillon-Marinas, Sonia Vazquez-Sanchez, Colin Kern, Kresna Jenie, Kseniya Malukhina, Stephen Moore, et al. 2024. “Re-Activation of Neurogenic Niches in Aging Brain.” BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.27.575940.
By Dan Lewis Foundation April 2, 2025
Alan was injured in 2021, at age 42. An art teacher in Lakewood, Colorado, Alan was riding his bicycle after school and was crossing at an intersection when a truck turned into the crosswalk area and hit him. Alan reports no memory of the event but has been told this is what happened. Alan says “My frontal lobe took the brunt of the impact, particularly the left frontal lobe”. Alan had a 2 ½ week stay at a nearby hospital where he, “re-learned to talk, to walk, and drink”-- although again he reports no memory of his stay there. Alan was then transferred to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, in Englewood, Colorado. Alan says, “The only reason I knew I was at Craig is that I rolled over in bed and saw “Welcome to Craig” on the dry erase board.” During this stage of recovering, Alan repeatedly denied that he had been in an accident. Twice he tried to leave Craig on his own accord despite his wife’s and his therapists’ assurances that it was important for him to stay to recuperate from his injuries. Alan’s wife was 8 months pregnant at the time of his accident and gave birth to their son while Alan was an inpatient at Craig. Alan’s wife brought his newborn son to visit him days after the birth and Alan held him while sitting in his wheelchair, but Alan wistfully reports this is another thing he can’t remember. Alan reports that he still has significant difficulties with memory. Alan has also experienced several other neuropsychological difficulties. He states that for months after his injury, he could not experience emotion. “I could not laugh, I couldn’t cry.” Even after three years, his emotional experience is constricted. However, an emotion that is sometimes elevated is irritation and anger. Sometimes, dealing with people can be difficult because he may have temper flare-ups with little reason. This is something that Alan regrets and he is working hard with his neuropsychologist to improve the regulation of his emotions. Alan also has difficulty with organization, motivation, and distractibility. Earlier in his recovery, he had trouble sequencing and had difficulty carrying out personal and household routines. Alan has benefited greatly from therapy and his own hard work to make improvements in these areas. A chief reason that Alan works so hard in his recovery is so that he can be a good father to his son who is now almost 3 years old. He recognizes that it is important not to get frustrated when it seems that he can’t provide what his son wants or needs at a given moment. “I’m trying to raise my son the best I can…he’s at such a pivotal time in his life.” Alan’s financial situation was helped for a time by Social Security Disability Insurance payments but these payments ended. He is trying to get SSDI reinstated but the process of doing so is confusing and is taking a lot of time. Alan returned to work about 11 months ago at a liquor store (after about 2 years of not being able to work), the same store where he previously worked part time while teaching. He works in the wine department. “I sell wine and make recommendations.” When asked for advice to other brain injury survivors, Alan’s words were: “No matter how confused or upset you are or how frustrated you get, keep pressing on and moving forward because there is light at the end of the tunnel even though it may seem long. Keep moving forward and don’t give up no matter what anyone says to you”. Alan added that supports for individuals with brain injury are very important. He has found support groups, retreats, and seminars/events where brain injury survivors can share their experience to be very helpful. The volunteer work he does at Craig Hospital has been valuable for him. Alan is an inspiring individual. Despite having scarce memory of his accident and some confusion about the functional losses he has experienced, Alan has worked hard to make his recovery as complete as possible. He continues to work hard to progress and to express gratitude for those who have assisted him along the way.
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