Magaña Lab
The Magaña Lab bridges the clinic and the laboratory by utilizing a multidisciplinary and innovative approach to advancing the field of pediatric neuroimmunology. Dr. Magaña’s clinical and research focus is on studying the age-span of multiple sclerosis—fetal and neonatal neurology, as well as childhood, adolescent and adult neurology. Specifically, Dr. Magaña is interested in understanding how endogenous nanoparticles shed from all cells, called extracellular vesicles (EVs), mediate cross-talk between cells of the nervous and immune systems.
The overall goal of our interdisciplinary laboratory is to be at the forefront of innovative translational neuroimmunology research by focusing on three main aspects of multiple sclerosis research:
- elucidating pathomechanisms at the earliest phases of disease initiation
- developing novel human-based pre-clinical models
- identifying therapeutic candidates for precision nanomedicine
The ultimate goal of our research program is to be amongst the first in the field of multiple sclerosis to utilize precision medicine in order to identify subjects at risk of developing MS in the preclinical phase and to tailor preemptive treatments that prevent MS from developing.
As a neurology resident, Dr. Magaña was introduced to the fascinating field of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and EV-cargo and immediately knew that this was the area she wanted to build her research program upon. EVs are involved in nearly every aspect of normal physiology and a myriad of pathophysiologies and their accessibility in all human biofluids offer unprecedented potential for biomarker and therapeutic discovery.
The Magaña Lab uses state-of-the-art EV methodologies to interrogate various human tissues and biofluids for EV analysis. We are a human-based, translational lab that utilizes human specimens from the bedside, to the bench for mechanistic discovery, and back to the bedside for theranostic application in patient care.
