Meet Our Team
The Neuronal Injury Program is a highly collaborative research group that works closely with several faculty from various departments here at Anschutz Medical Campus. We share the goal of furthering our understanding of the consequences of cerebral ischemia.
Our multidisciplinary approach to basic translational research uses neurophysiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, histology and neuro-behavior to elucidate the mechanisms of neuronal injury and identify therapeutic targets for protection and repair.
View profiles and links to our faculty, staff and trainees below.
NIP Faculty
Jacob Basak MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology
Dr. Basak studies the interaction between TRPM2 and amyloid beta in the long-term cognitive changes following neuronal injury.
Amy Clevenger MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Dr. Clevenger studies cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuroinflammation and blood brain barrier breakdown in an animal model of pediatric traumatic brain injury.
Robert Dietz MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics and Anesthesiology, Section of Neonatology
Dr. Dietz focuses on understanding the basic mechanisms and long term consequences of ischemic brain injury, particularly those that afflict the developing brain, with the hope of identifying translatable strategies in the future.
Andra Dingman MD
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics-Neurology
Dr. Dingman is a neurologist who specializes in fetal and neonatal neurology. My research focus is long-term consequences of perinatal stroke. Specifically, I am interested in how transient ischemia during early brain development influences survival, proliferation and maturation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs).
Joseph A Hippensteel MD, MS
Assistant Professor, Medicine-Pulmonary Sciences & Critical Care
Dr. Hippensteel studies the mechanisms underlying sepsis-associated delirium and its long-term cognitive consequences.
Nidia Quillinan PhD
Associate Professor, Anesthesiology
Dr. Quillinan studies excitability and plasticity changes in the brain following cerebral ischemia. We are particularly interested in cerebellar networks that are affected by stroke and cardiac arrest. We also investigate the role of sex hormones and their receptors in acute neuronal injury and longterm hippocampal function.