Turning Ideas into Solutions and Treatments into Reality
Every treatment starts as an idea, a scientific hypothesis that’s the first step of the research journey. Dr. Amy Bastian, longtime Chief Science Officer, shares her award-winning research and passion to help colleagues find success and innovation in their research programs. She helps them identify, champion and guide breakthrough research into the developing brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system.
Dr. Bastian manages the Institute’s expert team of basic, translational and clinical scientists to refine hypotheses, begin clinical trials and embrace the unparalleled depth and breadth of clinical and scientific expertise at the Institute. “My role is to help put the pieces together in terms the kinds of research we want to engage in, how we engage in it, and how we ultimately bring it to our patients.”
First steps are also Dr. Bastian’s focus as founder of the Center for Movement Studies, which aims to understand the neural control of human movement. “The goal of my own research is to help children with motor disorders, such as cerebellar ataxia or post-stroke hemiparesis, move more easily so they can enjoy and experience the world.” Her research also centers on discovering practical ways to help physicians and therapists improve the mobility—and lives—of children with movement disorders.
Her dual role at Kennedy Krieger allows her to approach this challenge from multiple directions, inspiring physical movement and restoring hope.
Pioneering Movement Research and Treatment
Walking is particularly vulnerable to neurological disease, which has debilitating effects on function. Dr. Bastian pioneered mechanistic studies of gait control and plasticity using split-belt treadmills, virtual reality and other novel therapies to show how new walking patterns are acquired, retained and generalized, and how distinct brain lesions alter these processes in children and adults.
Dr. Bastian’s team helps children with disabilities move more effectively through targeted training that harnesses neural plasticity. She emphasizes that “we don’t tell them how to move. Instead, we expose them to different movement demands customized to drive different learning mechanisms in the brain.
“I like to tell people to think about it this way: There is no pill I can give you to make you a tennis player,” she explains. “Similarly, children with movement disorders must explore motor patterns and make mistakes to retrain the brain to control their bodies.” By understanding development of motor learning mechanisms in childhood and embracing an athlete’s approach to training, they continue to make the training process faster and better.
Stepping Forward to Discoveries in Motor Research
Kennedy Krieger is the world’s premier healthcare organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and young adults with care and research focused on disorders and injuries of the developing nervous system, from autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability to cerebellar ataxia, cerebral palsy, acute flaccid myelitis and more than 200 ultra-rare diseases.
That means we are comfortable stepping into uncharted territory. In fact, it’s where we do our best work. Kennedy Krieger has a long history of undertaking and harnessing groundbreaking scientific research, conducting world-class clinical trials and creating new treatments to change lives.
One of Dr. Bastian’s breakthroughs is demonstrating that fundamental behavioral processes in human motor learning are differentially impacted following cerebellar damage, affecting motor control, balance and coordination versus cerebral cortical brain damage, which affects sensation, strength and muscle tone. Her work forms a novel mechanistic basis for new motor rehabilitation approaches for adults and children with neurological damage, steps that are changing lives.
The Institute’s dedication to interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-centered research and care have been instrumental in fostering an environment where groundbreaking discoveries can thrive.” – Dr. Amy Bastian