Education
B.S. in Biology from Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia
Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology from the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Honors, Awards, and Achievements
2020-2021: UGA Leading Large Integrative Research Teams (L2-IRT), Inaugural Invited Member
2020: Teaming for Interdisciplinary Research Award Recipient. Role: Team Lead. Team: Gut Microbial Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury
2019: University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Science Young Alumni Award Recipient
2012: Named “Emerging Scholar 2012” by Diverse Magazine
2010: Named “Georgia Trends Top 40 Under 40: Georgia’s Best and Brightest” by Georgia Trend Magazine
Research Interests
Stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are leading causes of long-term disability and death in the United States. Stroke is the number one cause of long-term disability and the fourth leading cause of death and has a significant impact on the elderly. TBI has been labeled a silent epidemic and has become the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, young children injured in falls and car accidents are one of the most affected groups, which can lead to lifelong cognitive, behavior and motor function deficits. Dr. West is broadly interested in regenerative therapies to treat stroke and TBI. His research has recently focused on the development of induced pluripotent stem cell derived neural stem cells (iNSCs) and extracellular vesicles as novel multimodal neuroprotective and regenerative therapeutics.
Selected Publications
“Neural stem cell extracellular vesicles disrupt midline shift predictive outcomes in porcine ischemic stroke model.” Samantha E. Spellicy, Erin E. Kaiser, Michael M. Bowler, Brian J. Jurgielewicz, Robin L. Webb, Franklin D. West, Steven L. Stice. Translational Stroke Research. [Epub ahead of print 2019 Dec 6].
“Controlled cortical impact leads to cognitive and motor function deficits that correspond to cellular pathology in a piglet traumatic brain injury model.” Holly A. Kinder, Emily W. Baker, Elizabeth W. Howerth, Kylee Jo J. Duberstein and Franklin D. West. Journal of Neurotrauma. [Epub ahead of print 2019 May].2019 Oct 1;36(19):2810-2826.
“Traumatic Brain Injury Results in Dynamic Brain Structure Changes Leading to Acute and Chronic Motor Function Deficits in a Pediatric Piglet Model.” Holly A. Kinder*, Emily W. Baker*, Silun Wang, Candace C. Fleischer, Elizabeth W. Howerth, Kylee Jo J. Duberstein, Hui Mao, Simon R. Platt, and Franklin D. West. Journal of Neurotrauma. [Epub ahead of print 2019 May]. 2019 Oct 15;36(20):2930-2942.
“mRNA reprogramming of T8993G Leigh’s syndrome fibroblast cells to create induced pluripotent stem cell models for mitochondrial disorders.” Harrison E. Grace, Patrick Galdun III, Edward J. Lesnefsky, Franklin D. West, Shilpa Iyer. Stem Cells and Development. [Epub ahead of print 2019 April]. 2019 Jul 1;28(13):846-859.
“Human neural stem cell extracellular vesicles improve recovery in a porcine model of ischemic stroke.” Robin L. Webb*, Erin E. Kaiser*, Brian J. Jurgielewicz, Samantha E. Spellicy, Shelley L. Scoville, Tyler A. Thompson, Raymond L. Swetenburg, David C. Hess, Franklin D. West and Steve L. Stice. Stroke. 2018 May;49(5):1248-1256.
“Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Stem Cell Therapy Enhances Recovery in an Ischemic Stroke Pig Model.” Emily W. Baker, Simon R. Platt, Vivian W. Lau, Harrison E. Grace, Shannon P. Holmes, Liya Wang, Kylee Jo Duberstein, Elizabeth W. Howerth, Holly A. Kinder, Steve L. Stice, David C. Hess, Hui Mao, and Franklin D. West. Scientific Reports. [Epub ahead of print 2017 Mar 7]. 2017 Aug 30;7(1):10075.
