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I have an interest in the blood-brain barrier and the effect of extracellular haemoglobin on the brain. Together with Diederik Bulters, neurovascular surgeon, we are designing early phase clinical studies of intraventricular haptoglobin as a novel treatment for subarachnoid haemorrhage, on the basis of strong signals of efficacy in preclinical models. I have joined this research database since I strongly believe that collaboration between investigators working with intrathecal drug administration will benefit clinical development of this drug delivery route. 

Existing collaborations relevant to drug delivery

Bio Products Laboratory Limited (www.bpl.co.uk) Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh (https://www.ed.ac.uk/roslin)

Publications relevant to drug delivery

Galea I. The blood-brain barrier in systemic infection and inflammation. Cell Mol Immunol. 2021 Sep 30:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-021-00757-x

Garland P, Morton MJ, Haskins W, et al. Haemoglobin causes neuronal damage in vivo which is preventable by haptoglobin. Brain Communications 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcz053 

Varatharaj A, Liljeroth M, Darekar A, et al. Blood-brain barrier permeability measured using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging: a validation study. J Physiol 2019;597(3):699-709. https://doi.org/10.1113/jp276887 

Bulters D, Gaastra B, Zolnourian A, et al. Haemoglobin scavenging in intracranial bleeding: biology and clinical implications. Nat Rev Neurol 2018;14(7):416-432. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0020-0 

Galea I, Perry VH. The blood-brain interface: a culture change. Brain Behav Immun 2018;68:11-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2017.10.014 

Elwood E, Lim Z, Naveed H, Galea I. The effect of systemic inflammation on human brain barrier function. Brain Behav Immun 2017;62:35-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2016.10.020 

Varatharaj A, Galea I. The blood-brain barrier in systemic inflammation. Brain Behav Immun 2017;60:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2016.03.010