Mission:
The mission of the Neural Environment Cluster is to reduce the burden of neurological diseases by facilitating research that increases knowledge of glial and cerebrovascular cell function in normal and pathological states, as well as immune cell function and infectious agents in the diseased nervous system.

The NINDS Neural Environment Cluster facilitates research on the neural environment by:

1. Encouraging studies on the development and normal functions of glial cells including myelin formation, microglial function, astrocyte function and cell-cell communication among the diverse cell populations of the nervous system.
2. Encouraging research on infectious, immune and inflammatory mechanisms in nervous system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, prion diseases, stroke and neuroAIDS.
3. Encouraging studies to identify the molecular mechanisms of cell injury and death in the nervous system
4. Fostering studies on vascular mechanisms of neurological disorders, CNS vascular development and the role of microvascular endothelia, extracellular matrix and cells of hematopoetic origin within the central nervous system.
5. Promoting the development of diagnostics and of therapies that will prevent, arrest or reverse autoimmune neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis.
6. Expanding studies on the mechanisms of blood-brain and brain-CSF barrier functions and of cell migration (and/or trafficking) into the CNS in stroke, immune disorders and CNS infections.
7. Encouraging the development of animal models for infectious and immune disorders, and stroke (e.g. transgenic or knockout/in models, viral models).
8. Promoting the study of biomarkers for vascular and immune diseases of the nervous system.
9. Strongly encouraging bi-directional translational research that transfers insights gained from basic research and clinical investigations.

Major Program Portfolios include:

Stroke
Multiple Sclerosis
Neuro-AIDS
Prion Diseases
Encephalitis

NIH-Supported Clinical Trials in Neural Environment Areas: