NIH awards Li grant for continued zinc study

Yang V. Li, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neuroscience, received a $445,500 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project "Elevated Zinc in Ischemia and Reperfusion."

This is the fourth consecutive grant Dr. Li has received from the NIH to support his study on the action of zinc in the neurological function. Dr. Li and his team have demonstrated that changes in metal ion zinc (Zn2+) concentration have a fundamental effect on numerous physiological processes in the brain, which is of clinical importance. The new NIH grant will allow Dr. Li and his team to investigate the fundamental processes that determine Zn2+ accumulation in neurons, and to identify the cellular and molecular mechanism specific to the acute neural injury after brain injury or ischemic stroke.