Surojit Paul Lab

Principal Investigator Surojit Paul, PhD, leads the Lab with an overall goal to understand the signaling mechanisms associated with brain injury in age-related neurological disorders involving excitotoxicity and oxidative stress. The ultimate objective is to utilize this information for the identification and development of novel therapeutic agents for neuroprotection.

Research Interests

The current focus of the laboratory is to evaluate the role of the brain-enriched and neuron-specific tyrosine phosphatase STEP (also known as Ptpn5) in normal brain function and neurological disorders. Dr. Paul’s group has established a neuroprotective role of STEP in ischemic stroke, and is pursuing an integrated approach at the molecular, cellular and systems level to understand the basis of this neuroprotection and develop STEP-derived therapeutic agents. He currently holds multiple national and international patents on STEP peptide mimetics.

Key Projects

• Signaling cascades involved in modulation of STEP function in ischemic stroke.
• Neuro-immune communication and neuroinflammation in neurological disorders.
• Development of STEP-derived peptides as novel neuroprotectants.
• Development of serological biomarkers for ischemic stroke.

The laboratory uses broad range of interdisciplinary approaches including rodent models of (a) cerebral stroke with comorbidities, (b) dementia and (c) prenatal alcohol exposure; mouse genetic models; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging; microscopy; molecular cloning; proteomics; RNA sequencing; behavioral evaluation; as well as biochemical and pharmacological studies in cell culture.