Vance P Lemmon

Vance P Lemmon, PhD, is a Professor of Neurological Surgery and holds the Walter G. Ross Distinguished Chair in Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Miami. His research focuses on neuroplasticity, neuroregeneration, and axon regeneration mechanisms. Key areas include high-content analysis, deep sequencing, and informatics to identify drug targets for nervous system injuries.

Education: PhD from Emory University (2008), BA from UCSD (1973), with postdoctoral training at Washington University (1981). His work has led to critical discoveries in L1CAM signaling, CSPG inhibition, and N-cadherin’s role in oligodendrocyte maturation.

Research integrates computational tools like RNASeq and bioinformatics to uncover miRNA and transcription factors driving regeneration. Preclinical models include spinal cord injury and optic nerve crush, with translational projects in ontology development (e.g., RegenBase) and data standardization (ODC-SCI).

Notable achievements include the Lifetime Achievement Award in Neural Regeneration. His lab explores kinase inhibitors, epigenetic modifiers, and machine learning for drug discovery, with recent work on GAK kinase as a cancer and regeneration target.