Bradley J Kerr

Dr Bradley J Kerr

Adjunct Associate Professor

Education:
BPhD-Neuroscience, University of London-King's College, London UK, 2001
BSc-Psychology, McGill University, 1996

Teaching: PMCOL412

Research: Mechanisms of chronic pain after CNS injury or disease

Research Interests / Laboratory Techniques

The development of chronic pain after spinal cord injury or in diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) is a major clinical concern. The main focus of research in my laboratory is aimed at addressing the cellular mechanisms that generate neuropathic pain in these conditions. My research uses two primary animal models: a clinically relevant spinal contusion injury model and a mouse model of autoimmune demyelination that resembles MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). My research aims to understand the specific pathways and cellular changes that arise in response to direct trauma or in chronic disease states that may promote the development of neuropathic pain. The lab employs a number of different strategies that include analysis at the cell and molecular levels, as well as systems level approaches to address this complex biological problem.

Selected Recent Publications

Mifflin K., Baker, B.B and Kerr, B.J. (2018) Effect of voluntary wheel running on neuroactive steroid levels in murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Neuroscience Letters. 685:150-154

Kerr, B.J. (2018) In focus: Neuro-immune interactions in pathological states. Journal of Neuroscience Research. 96(6):925-926

Potter LE, Doolen S, Mifflin K, Tenorio G, Baker G, Taylor BK, Kerr BJ. (2018) Antinociceptive Effects of the Antidepressant Phenelzine are Mediated by Context-Dependent Inhibition of Neuronal Responses in the Dorsal Horn. Neuroscience. 2018 15: 383:205-215.

Singh J1, Yousuf MS2, Jones KE3, Shelemey PTM4, Joy T4, Macandili H4, Kerr BJ2, Zochodne DW5, Sauvé Y6, Ballanyi K1, Webber CA4. (2018) Characterization of the Nile Grass Rat as a Unique Model for Type 2 Diabetic Polyneuropathy. Journal of Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 77(6):469-478.

Alpaugh M, Galleguillos D, Forero J, Morales LC , Lackey SW, Kar P, Di Pardo A, Holt A, Kerr BJ, Todd KG, Baker GB, Fouad K, Sipione S. (2017) Disease-modifying effects of ganglioside GM1 in Huntington's disease models. EMBO Mol Med. 201 9(11):1537-1557.

Boakye PA, Schmidt EKA, Rancic V, Kerr B, Ballanyi K, Smith PA (2017) Characterization of Superficial Dorsal Horn Neurons from "Tamamaki" Mice and Stability of their GAD67-EGFP Phenotype in Defined-Medium Organotypic Culture. Neuroscience. 2018 372:126-140

Mifflin, K.A., Frieser, E., Benson, C., Baker, G. and Kerr, B.J. (2017) Voluntary wheel running differentially affects disease outcomes in male and female mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis Journal of Neuroimmunology 305: 135-144

Yousuf M.S, Zubkow, K., Tenorio, G. and Kerr, B.J. (2017) The chloride co-transporters, NKCC1 and KCC2, in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Neuroscience 344: 178-186.

Simmen, T., Haile, Y., Deng, X., Ortiz Sandoval, C.,Tahbaz, N., Janowicz, A., Lu, J.Q., Kerr, B.J., Gutowski, N.J., Holley, J., Eggleton, P and Giuliani, F. (2017) Rab32 Connects ER Stress to Mitochondrial Defects in Multiple Sclerosis. Journal of Neuroinflammation 14(1):19

Potter, L.E., Paylor, J.W., Suh, J.S., Tenorio, G., Caliaperumal, J., Colburn, F., Baker, G., Winship, I. and Kerr, B.J. (2016) Altered excitatory-inhibitory balance within somatosensory cortex is associated with enhanced plasticity and pain sensitivity in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neuroinflammation 13(1):142

Mifflin, K.A and Kerr, B.J (2016) Pain in autoimmune disorders. Journal of Neuroscience Research. In Focus Issue on Pain.

Boakye PA1, Olechowski C, Rashiq S, Verrier MJ, Kerr B, Witmans M, Baker G, Joyce A, Dick BD. (2016) A Critical Review of Neurobiological Factors Involved in the Interactions Between Chronic Pain, Depression, and Sleep Disruption. Clinical journal of Pain 32(4): 327-36

Mifflin, K.A, Benson, C.,Thorburn, K.C, Baker GB, Kerr BJ. (2016). Manipulation of Neurotransmitter Levels Has Differential Effects on Formalin-Evoked Nociceptive Behavior in Male and Female Mice. Journal of Pain. 15: Apr;17(4):483-98
Yousuf M.S and Kerr, B.J. (2016). The role of regulatory transporters in neuropathic pain. Advances in Pharmacology-Pharmacological Mechanisms and the Modulation of Pain. 75:245-71

Thorburn, K.C., Paylor, J.W, Webber, C.A, Winship, I.R. and Kerr, B.J. (2016). Facial hypersensitivity and trigeminal pathology in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Pain 157 (3): 627-642.