The University of Iowa is one of six research teams combining efforts to conduct a major study of  neuroprotective agents that could help stroke survivors.

With the help of a $1.1 million Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network grant awarded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, UI professors Enrique Leira and Anil Chuahan will join research teams located at Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Georgia, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Texas at Austin, in assembling an elaborate research network, Leira said.

Chauhan said he met Leira a few years back while working on another project, and Leira convinced him to join him in studying neuroprotective agents that can be used to treat unhealthy brain cells after a stroke. He added that he understands the high potential of the research project.

 “I am extremely optimistic about the study,” Leira said. “It’s exciting to be using a new methodology.”

Leira added that he hopes this will be a “before-and-after” moment in the field. He said it is an honor to be selected for such a competitive grant, and that the first cycle of funding will last for three years. 

The study began in August, and the researchers hope to make significant strides toward increased rigor and oversight as well as decreased biases, Leira said. He believes multiple locations, placebos, and blinds can all contribute to increased effectiveness of the results, and the teams hope to translate previous studies into success with research on humans. 

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“The main challenge will be to overcome the culture of animal labs, which until now have been closed infrastructure,” Leira said.

Funding for this field of research usually goes to single independent labs, which are all competing for the same grants to perform experiments with less rigor than this one, Leira said. The hope for this project is to overcome the knowledge gaps created by less rigorous experimentation.

Contrary to tradition, all sites of the research network will test the same kinds of neuroprotective agents independently so that they can be compared head-to-head, Leira said. He explained that this is a key part of their methodology in creating their platform for effective research. 

Chauhan said that if the experiments are successful and are able to be replicated, testing will advance to humans.

Multiple team members have experience in testing neuroprotective agents, including UI research assistant professor in internal medicine Nirav Dhanesha. An example of such an agent might be uric acid — a common body waste product — which will be included in the experiment.

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Dhanesha expressed his optimism with the study and said that he began his career with this kind of translational research. He thinks that this form of the study is a “nice approach.”

Leira concluded that changing the culture into focusing more on clinical trials in humans will be one of the biggest challenges of this project. 

Despite this, Chauhan said he remains confident in the process of their research. 

 “If we can find one drug in our lives to help mankind, that makes the whole difference,” Chauhan said.