Donald G. Stein
Asa G. Candler Professor in Emergency Medicine and Neurology,
School of Medicine, Emory University
Swimming Against the Current: Challenges on the Way to Scientific Discovery
10 July 2008
Basic research is rarely a straight path to discovery. It usually takes many twists and turns over the course of a career. When one is trying to translate basic research into clinical practice, especially if working outside established paradigms and challenging received opinion, especially in the early stages of a career, this task becomes even more political and complex.
Dr Stein's talk presented a broad overview of the ups and downs and ins and outs of the investigative process that took almost three decades to bring a simple, safe and effective treatment for traumatic brain injury and possibly other Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders from the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside.
There were many social, political, economic and, scientific issues that presented themselves along the way. The trajectory was frustrating, exciting, sometimes depressing and almost always fulfilling because the challenge always provided focus, direction and a sense of purpose.
With the benefit of hindsight, Professor Stein believes that the long course of this research effort can serve as an example of what makes a research and teaching career as gratifying as it can and should be.
About The Speaker
Donald G. Stein, Ph.D., is a physiological psychologist and Asa G. Candler Professor in Emergency Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Before returning to full-time teaching and research, he served Emory for five years as Vice Provost for Graduate Studies, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and interim Vice President for Research. Dr. Stein was Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Rutgers University, Newark from 1988-1995, and adjunct professor of Neurology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Dr Stein’s research focused on the recovery of the brain function after a traumatic injury. Contrary to general beliefs, his laboratory led the research which showed that particular parts of the brain can still function after certain “critical” structures of the brain are removed. This work led to renewed studies which demonstrated that recovery can be induced in brain damaged adults.
Dr Stein’s lab was the first to show that there are different outcomes experienced by the male and female when there are severe injuries at the front of the head (the frontal cortex). The rate of recovery was related to the hormonal state of the females during the time of the injury. Later investigations by the lab showed that hormones played a key role in promoting functional recovery, through the ability of the hormones to eliminate water in the brain (cerebral edema).
Dr. Stein is the author of over 400 articles, book chapters, reviews and papers on the subject of recovery from brain injury. He has also authored or edited 16 books on the topic and has lectured at institutions around the world. Brain Repair (Oxford University Press, 1995) has now been published in five languages