Towards Brain Regeneration and Functional Recovery
Dan Lewis Foundation | Fall 2022

A major brain injury can result in the loss of brain tissue, the disruption of connections among regions of the nervous system, the destruction of specific brain regions that control various functions or sensations, and the creation of chaotic electrical activity that disrupts other brain signaling. 


To maximize healing in the damaged brain, minimizing the impact of the initial injury in the early hours and days after the trauma is essential. Bleeding and swelling must be controlled. Ongoing damage and scarring of the brain as a result of inflammation and disruption of blood vessels must be limited. Metabolic damage from uncontrolled seizures must be reduced.


Eventually, the storm of the acute events subsides. A person who survives the initial injury enters a future with residual damage and loss of function. Although other tissues and organs are capable of regeneration, human brain tissue does not regrow after damage. Some functional recovery can occur over time, mainly as the person retrains surviving brain regions to take over functions that were served by the injured or disrupted neural tissue. Persons who have survived a severe brain injury usually experience only modest further improvement in the years after their injury.


Recent research has demonstrated that it is plausible to develop medicines and treatments that stimulate the brain to regenerate itself and allow for functional recovery, even years after a devastating injury. The DLF is committed to focusing on developing therapies that will induce brain regeneration and function in persons living in the chronic phase of traumatic brain damage. 


Our scientific experts believe that a combination of strategies will be required to allow the brain to experience regrowth and recovery. First, it is necessary to unlock the ability of neurons to grow and replace lost brain tissue. Second, the power of the brain to form new synaptic connections must be enhanced, both in surviving brain regions and in regions repopulated with neurons. Third, the ability of neurons to reconnect to severed axons must be enhanced. Fourth, there must be highly targeted methods to train recovering and regenerating brain regions. Finally, novel devices that connect computers directly to neurons in the brain are being developed. These “brain-computer interfaces” are being designed to re-connect surviving brain regions to allow movement in paralyzed limbs and expression to people who can no longer speak. In each issue of the DLF newsletter, we will highlight one aspect of emerging research about stimulating brain regeneration (see Research Review Corner). We hope that growing awareness of dramatic scientific progress will motivate people to help support this work.


The DLF will focus resources and attention on those scientific projects and initiatives that are most likely to yield medicines that will stimulate brain regeneration and functional recovery. The DLF depends on charitable contributions and grants to fund the research, which will make these possibilities a reality. We hope you find these research updates to be informative and inspiring. 

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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