Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Gu has a long standing history studying neurovascular interactions that bridge the fields of neuroscience and vascular biology. Her team pioneered the investigation of fundamental mechanisms underlying the communication between the nervous and vascular systems, including how neural and vascular networks are coordinately developed, how neural activity influences the development and function of the blood vessels that supply the brain, and how the blood-brain barrier forms and functions. Dr. Gu's team has made a major breakthrough in the blood-brain barrier research by demonstrating that transcytosis regulation is a chief
mechanism for blood brain barrier function (Nature, 2014, Neuron 2017, Neuron 2017, Ann Neurol 2018, Elife 2019). Her lab’s recent discoveries have also changed our view of how blood supply is dynamically matched to the local needs of neural circuits. First, we showed that blood vessels and nerves can be instructed to follow
congruent routes in the body by common guidance cues during development (Gens&Development 2011, Nature Neuroscience 2011, Neuron 2013, JCB 2015, Elife 2014, Elife 2016). Next, they showed that local neural activity can increase the complexity of the vasculature in that brain region (Neuron 2014). However, these
processes are slow, evolving over a timescale of days; they also occur only during prenatal and early postnatal life. Her lab has therefore recently begun to study the mechanisms underlying the most rapid form of neurovascular matching, which occurs throughout life – i.e., the process of neurovascular coupling, where
blood flow is matched to brain activity on a timescale of seconds (Nature 2020).
Steps to claim CME credits for BWH Neurology Grand Rounds 2020-2021:
-
Text this code "GORGES” to 1-857-214-2277.
- A link will be sent to your email. Click on the link and complete the evaluation. After you complete the evaluation, your CME will be recorded. You will then be able to download a PDF of your certificate.
If you have any questions about the CME credit, please contact Partners Office of Continuing Professional Development at PartnersCPD@partners.org.
Upcoming Schedule:
5/26/21 - Dimitri Krainc
6/2/21 - Michael Heneka
6/9/21 - Combined Longwood GR
6/16/21 - Neurodegenerative Case Conference
6/23/21 - Dean Brashear
6/30/21 - Guoping Feng
