Neuro-X seminar: Prof Tim O’Shea

Astrocytes are the predominant glial cells in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) and play essential roles in maintaining neural circuit activity and tissue homeostasis. In response to CNS insult, including traumatic injury or implantation of a medical device, astrocytes undergo a conserved, temporally regulated reprogramming that reshapes their prioritized functions to protect adjacent neural tissue. The nature and extent of astrocyte reprogramming critically influences outcomes after CNS insult. For example, regeneration after traumatic CNS injury in adult mammals is limited by local responding astrocytes lacking sufficient self-renewal capacity. By contrast, the CNS of neonate (newborn) mammals possesses exceptional parenchymal repair capacity owing to immature astrocytes with elevated proliferative and migratory potential. In the context of an implanted medical device, the spatial extent of astrocyte reprogramming and how impacted astrocytes respond to any further device micromotion, latent infection, or other persistent device-derived stimuli, dictates device performance and longevity. Engineering astrocyte responses to promote targeted functional gains while preserving key capabilities of healthy neural tissue astrocytes will be critical to enabling effective neural regeneration therapies and improving long-term performance of implanted devices. In this talk, I will outline our emerging understanding of how adult astrocytes adaptively reprogram in response to CNS injury and implanted foreign bodies, drawing insights from innovative astrocyte-specific transcriptomic bioassays. I will also provide an overview of biomaterial and cell-grafting strategies that we are exploring to direct astrocyte responses in preclinical models of stroke, spinal cord injury, and foreign body responses.

📅 Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
🕐 Time: 11 am.
📍Location: Campus Biotech B1.06
👉 More information here !