Olga Kokiko-Cochran, PhD
Associate Professor
Neuroscience
Academic contact
Academic information
- Department: Neuroscience
Research interests
- Neurotrauma
- Inflammation
- Sleep Disruption
- Stress
- Alzheimer’s Disease
About
Biography
Inflammation following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a dynamic response of both the central and peripheral nervous systems, which is influenced by age, sex, injury location and severity. Because inflammation occurs after all brain injuries, I considers it an integral component of recovery. TBI is not an isolated event, and data indicate that pre- and post-injury immune challenges influence the response to TBI and chronic recovery. Additionally, evidence suggests that the brain’s stress response to an immune challenge is compromised following TBI. As a result, subsequent life stressors that further challenge the immune system alter long-tern recovery from TBI. We predict that post-injury sleep disruption is a significant and understudied stressor that largely influences outcome through inflammatory pathways.
Credentials
Education
- Postdoctoral Training
- Cleveland Clinic Foundation, The Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH, United States
- PhD - Biopsychology
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
- MS - Experimental Psychology
- East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, United States
- BA - Psychology
- Mount Union College, Alliance, OH, United States
Research
Research interests
- Neurotrauma
- Inflammation
- Sleep Disruption
- Stress
- Alzheimer’s Disease
Research Approaches
- Experimental TBI; Fluid Percussion Injury
- Behavioral Testing; Motor, Cognitive, and Sensory
- Immunohistochemistry
- Western Blot
- ELISA
- qPCR
- Flow Cytometry