ISU lab aims to repair severed nerves, foster undergraduate research

February 3, 2023
See the full article: https://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2022/09/27/nerve-growth
Abbigail Fowler shows gelatin scaffolds.
ISU senior Abigail Fowler shows several types of gelatin scaffolds. She’s part of Morrill Professor Donald Sakaguchi’s research team exploring how these structures may help nerves grow back after severe injury. Photo by Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University

Undergraduate students at Iowa State University are part of a research team testing different structures that could be used to help patients recover from traumatic nerve injuries. The team is led by Don Sakaguchi, a Morrill Professor of genetics, development and cell biology.

Learn more about Sakaguchi and his team's research in ISU News Service's article, "ISU lab aims to repair severed nerves, foster undergraduate research."

Undergraduate students learn how to use microscope.
Abigail Fowler shows Bridget McGovern how to use a microscope to look at “mini brains” — spheres containing hundreds to thousands of neural stem cells that can differentiate into nerve cells. The students collect these cells to “seed” the gelatin scaffolds. Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University
Neural stem cells
Neural stem cells viewed under a fluorescence microscope. Courtesy of Don Sakaguchi/Iowa State University