Dr Michel Modo  BSc MSc PhD FHEA
RCUK Fellow (with status of Senior Lecturer)

email	contact this person
tel	020 7848 5315
fax	020 7848 0986
address	Centre for the Cellular Basis of Behaviour The James Black Centre, Kings College London Institute of Psychiatry 125 Coldharbour Lane London SE5 9NU United Kingdom
location	James Black Building
departments	MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research Neurodegeneration and Brain Injury Neuroscience
also	Centre for the Cellular Basis of Behaviour (CCBB) Neural Stem Cells Neuroimaging Research Group

biography

Mike Modo graduated in Psychology from Royal Holloway University of London and spend 1 year as an undergraduate at the Psychology Department at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He then furthered his interests in the neural correlates underlying behavioural functions during an M.Sc. in Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, where he also continued his research efforts leading to a PhD in Neurosciences.


The main interest of Dr Mike Modo’s research lies in the restorative neurobiology following brain damage, with a particular interest in cerebral ischaemia and neurodegeneration. An interdisciplinary approach encompassing in vivo and ex vivo methods probes the functional, immunological, and histological consequences of brain damage. Our aim is to stimulate and/or supplement the potential of endogenous repair mechanisms to promote improvements in behavioural impairments. To this end, we also study the neurobiology of brain development/degeneration and its relation to neoplastic formations.


Recent research efforts are aimed to use non-invasive methods, such as neuroimaging (MRI and PET), to visualise brain damage and how restorative strategies (such as stem cell migration and integration) lead to functional improvements after insults to the brain. Especially the developments in molecular imaging currently under way promise new vistas to probe the repair of the central nervous system in vivo. These novel imaging methods will provide us with means to link anatomical, metabolic, immunological, and functional changes in damaged brains to behavioural impairment and recovery.

Please visit the Modo lab home page for more information about what we do.

activities and interests

Research Interests

• Neuroimaging - MRI, Molecular and Cellular MRI
• Stem Cell Therapy - neural stem cells, stem cell repair, stem cell differentiation, immunological aspects of cell therapy
• Behavioural Assessment - Cognitive, motor, sensorimotor
• Histology - Immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging
• Disease Models - Stroke, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s

Editorial Boards

• BMC Neuroscience
• Current Stem Cell Research and Therapy
• Neuroscience Imaging
• Open Magnetic Resonance Journal
• World Stem Cell Journal

Current Grant Support

• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
• Medical Research Council (MRC)
• European Union Framework VII
• National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
• Edmund J. Safra Foundation

teaching activities

publications

Research Papers
Modo, M., Sowinski, P. & Hodges, H. (2000). Conditional discrimination learning in rats with global ischaemic brain damage. Behavioural Brain Research, 111, 213-221.
Modo, M., Stroemer, R.P., Tang, E., Veizovic, T., Sowinski, P., & Hodges, H. (2000). Neurological sequelae and long-term behavioural assessment of rats with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 104, 99-109.

Modo, M., Cash, D., Mellodew, K., Williams, S.C.R., Fraser, S.E., Meade, T.J., Price, J., & Hodges, H. (2002). Tracking of transplanted stem cells by magnetic resonance microscopy in rats with global ischaemic brain damage. Neuroimage, 17(2), 803-811.
Modo, M., Rezaie, P., Heuschling, P., Patel, S., Male, D.K., & Hodges, H. (2002). Transplantation of stem cells in a rat model of stroke: Assessment of short-term graft survival and acute host immunological response. Brain Research, 958, 70-82.
Modo, M., Stroemer, R.P., Tang, E., Patel, S., & Hodges, H. (2002). Implantation site of stem cell grafts affects behavioural recovery from stroke damage. Stroke, 33(9), 2270-2278.

Modo, M., Hopkins, K., Virley, D., & Hodges, H. (2003). Apolipoprotein E expression after transplantation of neural stem cells in a rat model of stroke. Experimental Neurology, 182(2), 320-329.
Modo, M., Mellodew, K., & Rezaie, P. (2003). In vitro expression of major histocompatibility class I and class II on conditionally immortalized neural stem cells. Neuroscience Letters, 337, 85-88.
Modo, M., Tang, E., Stroemer, R.P., Patel, S., & Hodges, H. (2003). Transplantation of dead stem cells into a focal ischaemic lesion worsens the deficits. NeuroReport, 14(1), 39-42.

Modo, M., Mellodew, K., Cash, D., Fraser, S.E., Meade, T.J., Price, J., & Williams, S.C.R. (2004). Mapping transplanted stem cell migration after a stroke: A serial, in vivo magnetic resonance imaging study. Neuroimage, 21, 311-317.

Roberts, T., Price, J., Williams, S.C.R., & Modo, M. (2006). Preservation of striatal tissue and behavioural function after neural stem cell transplantation in a rat model of Huntington’s disease. Neuroscience,139(4), 1187-1199 .
Ashioti, M., Beech, J.S., Lowe, A.S., Hesselink, M.B. Modo, M., & Williams, S.C.R. (2007). The neocortical clip model of focal ischaemia: Assessment by serial magnetic resonance imaging, behaviour, and immunohistochemistry. Brain Research, 1145, 177-189.
Bae, J.-S., Han, H.S., Youn, D.-H., Carter, J.E., Modo, M., Schuchman, E.H., Jin, H.K. (2007). Mesenchymal stem cells promote neuronal networks after transplantation in mice. Stem Cells,25(5),1307-1316.
Brekke, C., Morgan, S., Lowe, A.S., Meade, T.J., Price, J., Williams, S.C.R., & Modo, M. (2007). In vitro effects of a bimodal contrast agent on cellular functions and relaxometry. NMR in Biomedicine, 20(2), 77-89.
Brekke, C., Williams, S.C.R., Price, J., Thorsen, F., Modo, M. (2007). Multiparametric cellular MR imaging of neural stem cell therapy in a rat glioma model. Neuroimage, 37, 769-782.
Roberts, T.J., Price, J., Williams, S.C.R., & Modo, M. (2007). pharmacological MRI of stem cell transplants in the 3-nitroproprionic acid-damaged striatum. Neuroscience, 144, 1 (1), 100-109.
Wheatcroft, S.B., Kearny, M.T., Ezzat, V.A., Modo, M., Williams, S.C.R., Miell, J., Shah, A.M., Crossey, P.A. (2007). Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 protects against the development of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. Diabetes, 56(2), 285-294.

Johansson, S.M., Price, J., Modo, M. (2008). Species-specific inflammatory cytokines influence the expression of major histocompatibility complex antigens and cell differentiation of human neural stem cells. Stem Cells, 26, 2444-2454.
Roberts, T.J., Williams, S.C.R., Modo, M. (2008). A pharmacological MRI assessment of MK-801 in the 3-nitroproprionic acid-lesioned rat. Neuroscience Letters, 444, 42-47.

Aron-Badim, R, Modo, M., Cheetham, M., King, M.F., Thomas, D.L., Gadian, D.G., Latchman, D.S., Lythgoe, M.F. (2009). Protective effect of post-ischemic viral delivery of heat shock proteins in vivo. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 29(2), 254-263.
Modo, M., Beech, J.S., Meade, T.J., Williams, S.C.R., & Price, J. (2009). A chronic 1 year assessment of MRI contrast agent-loaded neural stem cell transplants in stroke. Neuroimage, 47 (Suppl. 2), T133-142.
Bible, E., Chau, D., Alexander, M., Price, J., Shakesheff, K.M., & Modo, M. (2009). Scaffold particles support neural stem cells transplanted into stroke-induced brain cavities. Biomaterials, 30(16), 2985-2994.
Ashioti, M., Beech, J.S., McCreary, A., Modo, M., Williams, S.C.R. (2009). In vivo MRI and behavioural assessments indicate a lack of therapeutic efficacy of a novel 5HT1A agonist in rat models of stroke. BMC in Neuroscience, 10, 82.
Bible, E., Chau, D., Alexander, M. Price, J., Shakesheff, K.M., & Modo, M. (2009). Attachment of stem cells to scaffold particles for intracerebral transplantation. Nature Protocols, 4 (10), 1440-1453.

Reviews
Modo, M., & Williams, S.C.R. (2003). Molecular imaging by magnetic resonance imaging: The next generation. Rivista di Neuroradiologia, 16(Suppl 2), 23-27.

Modo, M., Roberts, T., Sandhu, J., & Williams, S.C.R. (2004). In vivo monitoring of cellular transplants. Expert Opinion in Biological Therapy. 4(2), 145-155.

Modo, M., Hoehn, M., Bulte, J.W.M. (2005). Cellular MR imaging. Molecular Imaging,4(3), 1-21.

Modo, M. (2006). Understanding stem cell-mediated brain repair through neuroimaging. Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 1(1), 55-64. Inaugural Issue.

Schaller, B.J., Modo, M., & Buchefelder, M. (2007). Molecular imaging of brain tumors: A bridge between clinical and molecular medicine. Molecular Biology and Imaging, 9(2), 60-71.

Modo, M. (2008). Treating brain damage – how stem cells are changing neurology. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Médicales du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, 2008(2), 217-257.
Modo, M. (2008). Non-invasive imaging of transplanted cells. Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation, 13, 654-658.

Puppi, J., & Modo, M. (in press). The use of MRI contrast agents to detect transplanted liver cells. Topics in MRI.


Books
Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W.M. (2007). Cellular and Molecular MR imaging. CRC Press.

Bulte, J.W.M. & Modo, M. (2008). Nanoparticles in Imaging. Springer Verlag.

Modo, M., & Bulte, J.W. (in press). MR Neuroimaging - Protocols and Methods. Methods in Molecular Biology Series. Humana Press.


Book Chapters
Modo, M., Zelaya, F., Lythgoe, D., Beech, J.S., & Williams, S.C.R. (2002). Contemporary neuroimaging of cerebral ischaemia (pp 37-56). In Krieglstein, J. (Ed), Pharmacology of Cerebral Ischemia 2002. Stuttgart, Germany: Medpharm Scientific Publishers.

Modo, M., & Williams, S.C.R. (2003). MRI and novel contrast agents for molecular imaging (pp 293-322). In van Bruggen, N. & Roberts, T. (eds). Techniques of Biomedical Imaging in Neuroscience Research. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Modo, M. (2007). Are stem cells attracted by pathology? – The case for serial in vivo magnetic resonance imaging. In Fromes, Y., Tavitian, B., Ntziachristos, V., Leroy-Willig, A. (Eds), In vivo imaging in vertebrates. John Wiley & Sons.
Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W.M. (2007). What is molecular and cellular imaging? In Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W.M. (Eds), Molecular and Cellular MR Imaging. CRC press.
Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W.M. (2007). Cellular imaging of cell transplants. In Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W.M. (Eds), Molecular and Cellular MR Imaging. CRC press.
Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W.M. (2007). An outlook on molecular and cellular MR imaging. In Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W.M. (Eds), Molecular and Cellular MR Imaging. CRC press.
Modo, M., Price, J., & Williams, S.C.R. (2007). Cell transplantation after stroke: The role of in vivo imaging. In Schaller, B. (Ed), State-of-the-art imaging in stroke: The present state and implication on future. Nova Medical Publishers.

Bulte, J.W.M. & Modo, M. (2008). The emergence of nanoparticles as a platform technology in biomedical imaging. In Bulte, J.W.M. & Modo, M. (Eds), Nanoparticles in biomedical imaging: Emerging technologies and applications. Springer Verlag.

Modo, M., Meade, T.J. & Mitry, R. (2009). Liver cell labelling with MRI contrast agents. In Dhawan, A., Hughes, R. (Eds.), Hepatocyte protocols: Experimental and clinical techniques. Humana Press.

Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W. (in press). Imaging from molecules to man – the dawn of a vitrious man. In Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W. (Eds.). Neuroimaging – protocols and methods. Humana Press.
Vernon, A., & Modo, M. (in press). Imaging proteasome inhibition damage using MRI. In Modo, M. & Bulte, J.W. (Eds.). Neuroimaging – protocols and methods. Humana Press.


Miscellaneous
Modo, M. (2007). Neuroimaging: A way to understand stem cell-mediated brain repair. BioForum Europe, 10/2007, 2-3.

last updated: Friday, October 16, 2009