About Us

Study participant Deborah Grant does rehab with help of therapist

The Stroke Recovery Research Center works to understand and harness brain plasticity by developing restorative post-stroke therapies inspired by basic science. 

Through new interdisciplinary collaborations, innovative approaches, and mentored training, we strive to excel in the mechanism-based research needed to develop stronger evidence-based treatments addressing post-stroke disability and contributing to a better quality of life for stroke survivors. 

Our Focus

The Stroke Recovery Research Center is specifically designed and organized to address three priorities.

  1. Understanding and harnessing brain plasticity.
  2. Understanding the experience dependent nature of post-stroke plasticity.
  3. Translating restorative post-stroke therapies inspired by basic science.

The organizing concept is that a better understanding of the experience-dependent nature of neural plasticity allows us to investigate and exploit inherent neural recovery processes, develop and translate novel mechanism-based interventional strategies and ultimately improve the function and quality of life of individuals recovering from stroke. This knowledge and its translation into clinically effective interventions is facilitated by the development of a theory-based measurement framework including quantitative measures of:

  • Normal neurological function.
  • Underlying structural and functional damage after stroke.
  • Experience dependent neural plasticity during rehabilitation.
  • Structural and functional changes post-rehabilitation.
  • Functional recovery of each individual patient.