Seth Love Wellcome Award
Manchester Metropolitan University awarded £321,964 from Wellcome Trust, with Seth Love as co-applicant
[Posted on 14 September 2007]
Mark Slevin (Manchester Metropolitan University), Shant Kumar (Manchester Metropolitan University), Seth Love, Karl Giese (King's College London) and Li-Huei Tsai (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have been awarded £321,964 by the Wellcome Trust for a 4-year study entitled “Role of cyclin-dependent kinase-5 in vascularization after ischaemic stroke”. Cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (CDK-5) is a proline-directed serine threonine kinase which is highly expressed in the central nervous system. Abnormal activation of CDK-5 activity may cause hyperphosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer’s disease, leading to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. However, normal CDK-5 activity is important for neuronal survival and endothelial proliferation. This project will address the hypothesis that activation of Cdk5 modulates neovascularization and rescue of potentially viable brain tissue following acute ischaemia.