Faculty Research

Joseph M. Corey, MD, PhD ( coreyj@umich.edu )
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology

Dr. Corey's research is focused on repair and regeneration after nervous system injury. His approach centers on manipulating the extracellular microenvironment of nerve cells to promote their regeneration. His ultimate goal is to construct scaffolds that provide a physical surface for regenerating nerve cells and simultaneously deliver growth factors and matrix proteins to maximize regeneration. Working with David Martin, PhD in the Depts. of Materials Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Corey is designing and testing aligned nanofibers that are about as wide as regenerating nerve cells. When grown on these fibers, cells migrate along them very precisely, potentially allowing the accurate directing of nerve cells to their final targets. He is also interested in studying how individual cells from the nervous system are affected by the spatial arrangement of proteins that surround them, and how this can be used to control cell proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation.