Rona Giffard

Administrative Appointments

• Vice-Chair for Research, Dept. of Anesthesia (1999 - present)

Honors and Awards

• NIH Clinical Investigator Award, NIH (1990-1995)
• Young Investigator Award, Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (1991-1992)
• Ellen Weaver Award, Association for Women in Science, Northern California Chapters (1997)
• Frontiers in Anesthesia Research Award, International Anesthesia Research Society (1998-2003)
• AHA/Bugher Award, American Heart Association (2000-2004)

Professional Education

Postdoctoral Advisees

Robin White,  Xiaoxing Xiong

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Anesthesia
• Neurosciences
• Neurosurgery
• Neonatology and Developmental Biology
• Cell Biology
• Molecular and Genetic Medicine

Internet Links

• Giffard Lab Web site

Current Research Interests

Brain injury from stroke, head trauma, and chronic neurologic degenerative diseases, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We are particularly interested in the cellular consequences of brain injury. To study this problem we work with primary cultures of neurons and astrocytes from mice in addition to employing rodent models of stroke. Current work focuses on: 1) the role of astrocytes in brain injury; 2) the interaction of neurons and glia during injury; 3) protection using heat shock protein and other protective proteins 4) changes in mitochondrial function and signaling in injury and ways to protect mitochondria; 5) the interaction of oxidative stress and inflammation in stroke; 6) computational modeling of cell death.

We use gene transfer techniques to express genes of interest in brain cells and intact brain and analyze ways in which these genes can provide protection. We use fluorescent probes for pH, intracellular calcium, ROS, mitochondrial membrane potential, glutathione, as well as morphologically evaluate outcome, and quantitate injury. We also use transgenic mice to analyze the effects of overexpression or loss of expression of specific genes on outcome from stroke. Mitochondria are central to both energy metabolism and the regulation of cell death. We study changes in mitochondria with stress. We are also interested in the interaction of oxidative stress and inflammation in stroke.

A new area for us is computational modeling of cell death and the effects of heat shock proteins. We are working on an ODE control model.

Publications

• Genomic analysis of reactive astrogliosis. Zamanian JL, Xu L, Foo LC, Nouri N, Zhou L, Giffard RG, Barres BA. J Neurosci. 2012; 32 (18): 6391-410
• Neuroprotection from Stroke in the Absence of MHCI or PirB. Adelson JD, Barreto GE, Xu L, Kim T, Brott BK, Ouyang YB, Naserke T, Djurisic M, Xiong X, Shatz CJ, Giffard RG. Neuron. 2012; 73 (6): 1100-7
• miR-181 regulates GRP78 and influences outcome from cerebral ischemia in vitro and in vivo. Ouyang YB, Lu Y, Yue S, Xu LJ, Xiong XX, White RE, Sun X, Giffard RG. Neurobiol Dis. 2012; 45 (1): 555-63
• Astrocyte targeted overexpression of Hsp72 or SOD2 reduces neuronal vulnerability to forebrain ischemia. Xu L, Emery JF, Ouyang YB, Voloboueva LA, Giffard RG. Glia. 2010; 58 (9): 1042-9
• Mitochondrial protection attenuates inflammation-induced impairment of neurogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Voloboueva LA, Lee SW, Emery JF, Palmer TD, Giffard RG. J Neurosci. 2010; 30 (37): 12242-51