Dr Stins’ research interests revolve around the role that the blood vessels in the brain play in modulating neurological function under different stress conditions, including microbial exposure. She is specifically interested in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria (CM) and its neurologic sequelae. Interestingly, unlike many other neurotropic microbes, Plasmodium infected erythrocytes (PRBC) do not invade into the brain but remain INSIDE the cerebral vasculature, while causing seizures, coma, encephalopathy and neurologic sequelae in CM survivors, suggesting an important role of the blood brain barrier (BBB) endothelium in CM.. However, the underlying pathogenic processes are unclear. Therefore, using both in situ studies and in-vitro modeling of the BBB, Dr. Stins is studying brain endothelial activation by PRBC, including cell adhesion molecule expression, cyto-/chemokine transcripts and release, effects on barrier function and its relation to CM neuropathology and sequelae.
Due to heterogeneity of cerebral blood vessels in different brain regions, CM pathology shows a divergent pathology in the brain’s white matter versus gray matter. Hence, Dr. Stins is developing modified in-vitro models of the BBB that are more representative of brain endothelium residing in specific areas of the brain to study these differences, which has relevance not only for CM but also other brain diseases.
Click here for a list of Dr. Stins' Publications.