Ph.D. 2003, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Phone: 202.687.2526
Fax: 202.687.0617
E-mail: krb27@georgetown.edu

Dr. Byrnes' research interests lie in understanding inflammation following traumatic injury to the central nervous system.  She is particularly interested in understanding the role of microglia following traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, using both microglial culture systems and rat and mouse models of injury.  Dr. Byrnes' previous work has explored the expression of 2 temporally correlated gene clusters expressed by microglia following spinal cord injury, one of which is chronically expressed up to 6 months after injury.  Her work has demonstrated that components of the NADPH oxidase enzyme may play a significant role in chronic microglial activation after injury, and work in the lab is currently exploring this avenue as a potential therapy for traumatic spinal cord and brain injury.

Medline Publications