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V_J J PEOPLE Trenton native leads research into spinal cord injury study $y Derek Baldwin Special to The Intelligencer One of the premier neuroscien- :ists in the world admits he has- n't been back to his home town of Trenton for more than a decade. But Marc Tessier-Lavigne, 39, can be forgiven --he hasn't had much time for reminiscing. A neurophysiology Ph.D gradu- ate from the University of Lon- don, Lavigne is now a professor at University of California and as such is poised at the helm of some of the most innovative research anywhere on the planet, trying to end paralysis due to spinal cord injuries. With about 20 researchers under his supervision in a Cal-U laboratory, Lavigne is spearhead- ing the quest to learn more about netrin proteins which have been shown to encourage the repair of severed spinal' cord nerve tissue. For years, a damaged spinal cord has traditionally resulted in partial or complete paralysis because the tissue cannot recon- nect, hence the brain can no longer send signals through the spinal cord to other muscles in the body. While medical progress -is being made to cut down the chances of paralysis if a victim is given inflammatories within 24 hours to reduce further swelling and damage to the spinal cord, Lavigne, meanwhile, is working toward more hopeful discoveries using netrins. His findings, thus far, stem from the study of the embryonic development of the spinal cord in the fetus. When the fetus is grow- ing inside a woman's womb, netrin proteins mysteriously guide the spinal chord to grow from the base of the neck through the body whilst connecting the right signals to the proper mus- cles. Lavigne compared the netrin proteins located at the end of the growing spinal cord, to a "a blood- hound on a leash" and is essen- tially trying to mimic similar growth in damaged adult human spinal cords through the netrin protein to reconnect the tissue. The problem is, he said, that after a spinal cord has been cut in an adult spinal cord, the environ- ment around the broken nerves becomes hostile and for unknown rea- sons the tissues don't reconnect. "The idea is to use these pro- teins to coax the cables to grow again," said Lav- igne, in an inter- view from Cali- fornia. "If we can give the tis- sue the right e n v i r o n m e n t , they will grow back." .The astounding work has pro- pelled Lavigne into the interna- tional spotlight, most recently, when he was named by TIME magazine as one of 27 young Canadians who are leaders of tomorrow. Lavigne has also been inducted into the Royal Society of Canada and will be named a Fel- low in November. His findings have also turned heads in the medical world, including Harvard University which offered him the headship of their neurology department. . Lavigne, instead, has decided to stay at California University to head up its Centre of Brain Devel- opment. Marc Tessier Lavigne