Ling Wei, M.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC.

Phone: (843)-792-4112
Fax: (843)-792-0368
E-mail: weil@musc.edu

Education:

M.D., Beijing Capital Institute of Medicine, 1982;
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Neurological Surgery, SUNY at Stony Brook NY 1986-1992;
MD Research Fellowship, Neurological Surgery, Washington University 1993-1996 .

Research Interests:

Our research focuses on cell injury in cerebral ischemia and the treatment of ischemic stroke. Focal and global ischemia models in adult and young animals are used for studies of cell protection and functional recovery. Cell death (apoptosis and necrosis) and mechanism of cell protection are investigated at cellular, molecular, and animal levels. Genetically modified mice have been used for understanding particular genes in pathogenesis and potential therapeutic applications.

We are particularly interested in neural and vascular plasticity (neurogenesis and angiogenesis) that may promote long-term functional recovery after stroke. Our recent research on embryonic stem (ES) cell transplantation is aimed at repairing damaged structures and promoting functional recovery in the ischemic brain after stroke, as well as in injured peripheral nerves, using wild-type and genetically modified embryonic stem cells.

Functional optical imaging, quantitative autoradiography, immunohistochemistry, molecular/cellular biology, electron/confocal microscopy, and electrophysiology are used in our investigations.

Selected Recent Publications:

Wei, L., Kimberley , C., Liang, G., Rovainen, C., Fenstermacher, J. and Woolsey, T.A. Local cerebral blood flow before and after acute ligation of multiple arteroles in rat whisker barrel cotex. Neurobiol. Dis. 5:142-150, 1998.

Wei, L ., Erinjeri, J.P., Rovainen, C.M. and Woolsey, T.A. Collateral growth and angiogenesis around cortical stroke. Stroke. 32:2179-2184, 2001.

Carmichael, T., Wei, L. , Rovainen, C.M. and Woolsey, T.A. New patterns of intracortical projections after focal cortical stroke. Neurobiol Dis. 8:910-922, 2001.

Adams LD, Choi L, Xian HQ, Yang A, Sauer B, Wei L , and Gottlieb DI. Double lox targeting for neural stem cell transgenesis. Brain Res Mol Brain Res 110:220-233, 2003.

Wei, L ., Yu, S.P., Gottron, F., Snider, J. and Choi, D.W. Potassium channel blockers attenuate hypoxia- and ischemia-induced neuronal death in vitro and in vivo. Stroke . 34:1281-1286, 2003.

Wei, L ., Yin, Kejie., Lee Jin-Moo., J.Y., Yu, S.P., Lin, Teng-Nan and Hsu, C.Y. Restorative Potential of angiogenesis after ischemic stroke. In: Neuronal and Vascular Plasticity, Ed. Kenneth Maiese, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers London, pp. 75-94, 2003

Ewing, J.R., Wei, L ., Knight, R.A., Pawa, S., Nagaraja, T.N., Brusca, T., Divine, G.W. and Fenstermacher, J.D. Direct comparison of local cerebral blood flow rates measured by MRI arterial spin-tagging and quantitative autoradiography in a rat model of experimental cerebral ischemia. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 23:198-209, 2003.