Experimental Stroke Core
The Experimental Stroke Core (ESC) provides unique expertise and develops novel tools and stroke animal models to enhance the effectiveness of stroke researchers. Specifically, the ESC provides the expertise, training, instrumentation, and resources for the incorporation of animal models of stroke into the research of junior investigators participating in the WVU Stroke CoBRE and to researchers in the greater WVU neuroscience and cardiovascular research community. The core offers several stroke-related animal models, including transient and permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion, distal middle cerebral artery occlusion, neonatal hypoxia ischemia, epidural application model, white matter disease model and global ischemia. The ESC also provides training on all of these surgical models, advice on experimental design, assists in protocol development, helps with the conduct of stroke experiments and data collection, conducts statistical analyses, interprets the data, and assists with manuscript and grant preparation.
Director: Kate Karelina Weil, PhD
Rodent Behavior Core
Neurological disorders including stroke are highly prevalent and have substantial medical, financial, and human costs, including behavioral and functional disruptions that diminish quality of life. As such, the inclusion of functional assessments in studies of brain disorders is a necessary component of an impactful, translational biomedical research program. For this reason, the West Virginia University (WVU) Rodent Behavior Core (RBC) operates as a shared instrumentation facility dedicated to the assessment of functional outcomes in rodents. WVU RBC staff offer comprehensive behavioral testing services from ‘design to dissemination’ that include: consultation on experimental design and task selection, writing assistance, behavior testing training, conducting behavioral tests, maintaining RBC equipment, hardware and software, and data entry and statistical analysis assistance. To date, the RBC offers 27 distinct stroke-relevant tests comprising 5 domains of brain function.
Directors: James Walton, PhD and Randy Nelson, PhD
