Focus 1
Motor recovery via KCC2 modulation
Mechanism-driven studies designed to produce clinically meaningful functional outcomes.
Department of Neurobiology · UTMB
Chen Laboratory
Translational spinal cord injury neuroscience focused on neuronal protection, motor recovery, autonomic function, and neuropathic pain.
Research Focus
Core directions in our current translational spinal cord injury research program.
Focus 2
Bladder and bowel control
Mechanism-driven studies designed to produce clinically meaningful functional outcomes.
Focus 3
Central neuropathic pain (CNP) mechanisms
Mechanism-driven studies designed to produce clinically meaningful functional outcomes.
Focus 4
Neuronal swelling prevention
Mechanism-driven studies designed to produce clinically meaningful functional outcomes.
Latest News
AwardDec 2025
Joseph Sandoval wins Best Poster at Mission Connect
Joseph Sandoval won overall Best poster in SCI at Mission Connect for his poster 'Decoding Motor States in SCI Locomotion'.
PublicationAug 2025
Paper accepted in Journal of Neuroscience
Sensory deficits in mice with lateral spinal cord hemisection mimic the Brown-Séquard syndrome was accepted for publication.
AwardAug 2024
Joseph Sandoval awarded Craig H. Neilsen Foundation funding
Undergraduate researcher Joseph Sandoval received funding from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation to support his computational locomotion analysis research.
AwardNov 2024
Chen Lab trainees win awards at Mission Connect Symposium
Wei Li won 1st place in the SCI Postdoc/Fellow category and Melissa Henwood won 2nd place in the SCI Graduate Student category at the Dr. Robert G. Grossman Mission Connect Scientific Symposium.
Featured Publication
2024Published
Reduction of prolonged excitatory neuron swelling after spinal cord injury improves locomotor recovery in mice
Science Translational Medicine, 16, eadn7095.