Patrick Sullivan, PhD

Pat Sullivan, PhD, is a Professor of Neuroscience and Endowed Chair in the Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC) at the University of Kentucky. He is also a Research Physiologist at the Lexington VA Healthcare System. My research is on the underlying mechanism(s) of neuronal degeneration and progressive tissue destruction that occurs following brain injuries. To begin exploring the cellular and/or molecular mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of TBI and SCI, it is important to focus on key regulatory steps in the cell death process. Recent evidence indicates that mitochondria, long-known as the “powerhouse” of the cell, play a pivotal role in the cell death cascade. Thus, the main focus of our laboratory is to advance the field of CNS injury research by mapping key events that result in mitochondrial failure and employing this knowledge in developing novel strategies that target these pathways.