Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center
University of Wisconsin – Madison

Raghu Vemuganti, PHD

Position title: Professor, Neurological Surgery

Email: vemuganti@neurosurgery.wisc.edu

Phone: 608-263-4055

Organ System/Disease Focus:
CNS / Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury
Aligned Research Focus:
Non-coding RNAs, Neurogenesis, Stem cells, Neuroprotection and Regeneration
Raghu Vemuganti headshot

Pubmed

More information:
Research Description:

The major research focus of the Vemuganti lab is to understand the mechanisms of brain damage and regeneration after stroke. The lab has a long-term interest in understanding the significance of post-ischemic neurogenesis with a goal to reinforce it with growth factors and cytokines. We are also interested to evaluate if the transplanted induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) survive, increase the plasticity and functional recovery in the injured brain. We are also studying the role of non-coding RNAs in brain damage and regeneration. We are the first lab to demonstrate that ischemia significantly alters the cerebral microRNAs as well as piRNAs and LncRNAs. As these are upstream to pathways that promote regeneration and tolerance to ischemia, we are exploring their functional significance in the post-stroke brain.

Selected References:
  • Nakka VP, Lang BT, Lenschow DJ, Zhang DE, Dempsey RJ, Vemuganti R (2011) Increased cerebral protein ISGylation after focal ischemia is neuroprotective. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 31: 2375-2384.
  • Dharap A, Nakka VP, Vemuganti R (2011) Altered expression of PiRNAs in rat brain following transient focal ischemia. Stroke 42:1105-1109.
  • Bowen KK, Satriotomo I, Dempsey RJ, Vemuganti R (2011) Adult interleukin-6 knockout mice show compromised neurogenesis. Neuroreport 22:126-130.
  • Yan Y, Lang BT, Vemuganti R, Dempsey RJ (2009) Persistent migration of neuroblasts from the sub-ventricular zone to the injured striatum mediated by osteopontin following intracerebral hemorrhage. J Neurochem 109:1624-1635.
  • Liu YP, Lang BT, Baskaya MK, Dempsey RJ, Vemuganti R (2009) The potential of neural stem cells to repair stroke-induced brain damage. Acta Neuropathol 117: 469-480.