UNT Health researcher earns new grant funding to study stroke's first hours
Every year, millions of people survive a stroke only to face a long, uncertain road
to recovery, even after successful treatment. Dr. Sterling Ortega, an assistant professor of
microbiology, immunology and genetics at UNT Health Fort Worth, was recently awarded
a grant to explore how the immune system responds to a stroke. The findings could
help expand treatment options and speed up recovery for survivors.
“Even with a successful clot-removal procedure, about half of stroke patients still experience poor long-term functional recovery,” Ortega said.
The research team approached the problem by asking a question that hadn't been fully explored: What is the immune system doing in the first hours after stroke, before the clinical window even opens?
“The answer surprised us,” Ortega said.
“Our lab discovered a population of IFN-γ-producing CD14+ myeloid cells active within hours of stroke onset — a hyperacute immune response hiding in plain sight that may be driving outcomes we've struggled to explain for decades.”
The Robert Allan Shivers, Jr. Integrating Perspectives in Neurotrauma Research award is a $200,000 two-year grant funded by the Mission Connect program of the TIRR Foundation, a nonprofit public charity that funds medical research and support programs for people with central nervous system damage, brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.
The grant, one of only two awarded nationwide by the foundation this year, will allow the research team to dig deeper into what these CD14+ cells are doing in the critical first hours after stroke. The team will explore what is triggering them, what signals they are producing, and most importantly, whether stopping them can change outcomes.
Dr. Austin Reynolds, assistant professor of microbiology, immunology and genetics at UNT Health, is co-investigator on the project.
“Once we further identify these IFN-g-producing CD14+ cells, we need to understand why they are doing what they are doing at the molecular level,” Ortega said.
“As a geneticist and bioinformatician with deep expertise in transcriptomics, Reynolds will lead the design and analysis of our RNA sequencing work, helping to decode the gene expression patterns that drive this hyperacute immune response,” Ortega said.
The experimental framework the team is building, from in vitro co-culture models to in vivo conditional depletion and transcriptomics profiling, could help the lab secure additional grant funding to further expand the research.
The project also brings new research opportunities for students and trainees at UNT Health’s College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences. Ortega said that collaboration within the college was key in developing this innovative approach to the challenge.
“CBTS has been foundational to this journey. The collaborative environment, the access to outstanding graduate students through the program, and the institutional support for building an independent research program have all been critical,” Ortega said.
“This award is as much a reflection of that ecosystem as it is of our lab's work. We are excited to push this science forward and hopefully open a new therapeutic window for the millions of patients affected by stroke every year.”