Manitoba Neuroscience Network Seminar
Friday, January 31st, 2014 | 9:00 am
Seminar Series
Dr. Soheila Karimi
Assistant Professor in Physiology and Biochemistry & Medical Genetics
Senior Scientist, Regenerative Medicine Program
Principal Investigator, Spinal Cord Research Center
Scientist, Manitoba Institute of Child Health
Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba
Topic: Spinal Cord Injury: Elucidating Injury Mechanisms and Developing Repair Strategies
Location: PX236/238 PsychHealth Bldg.
Biosketch: Dr. Karimi received her PhD degree in Neurosciences from the University of Saskatchewan in 2001. She then
undertook a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury and Stem Cell Research at the Toronto Western Research Institute.
Dr. Karimi has had a long-term interest in spinal cord regeneration with a special focus on the application of neural stem cells
for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). During her training, she received a number of academic and research awards
including postdoctoral fellowships from the CIHR, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Her postdoctoral work broke a new ground in SCI therapeutic field by showing that transplantation of adult neural stem cells
can be used therapeutically to replace lost oligodendrocytes and functionally restore the damaged myelin sheath around the
injured axons with improved recovery of function. In 2006, she received the prestigious Synthes Award from the American
Association of Neurological Surgeons for this work. Prior to joining the University of Manitoba in 2010, Dr. Karimi was an
adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto from 2007 to 2009.
Research Interests: Current research in Karimi’s laboratory has focused on regenerative medicine strategies to therapeutically
optimize the regenerative potential of resident and transplanted neural stem cells for SCI repair. Adult neural stem cells hold
tremendous promise for the repair of injured spinal cord since they have multipotential abilities to replace all damaged neural
cells and the potential to provide a supporting environment for repair and regeneration. Using pre-clinical models of SCI,
Karimi’s team strives to understand how the properties NSCs are modulated within the post-SCI niche. The goal is to recruit
NSCs efficiently to replace damaged oligodendrocytes and promote axon remyelination and functional recovery. The team
has recently discovered key factors that seem to play major roles in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of neural
stem cells in SCI condition. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms of stem cell functions will aid in identifying potential
therapeutic targets for enhancing cell replacement and tissue reconstruction after SCI.
Dr. Karimi’s research has been supported by national, international and local grants from CFI, NSERC, Christopher and Dana
Reeve Foundation, Craig Neilsen Foundation, MHRC, Canadian Paraplegic Association, HSC Foundation, MICH, MMSF,
Thorlakson Foundation, and U of M.
Kelly Jorundson
Winnipeg Chapter Society for Neuroscience
R4046 - 351 Tache Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R2H 2A6
Tel: 204.235.3939
Fax: 204.237.4092
Email: kjorund@sbrc.ca OR kjorund@yahoo.ca
Website: www.sfn-manitoba.ca