Posted: 11/20/2020
Andrews part of Faculty Research Slam
Recently, as part of the Nebraska Research Days event, eight University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty members presented five-minute talks via Zoom about their work. The group of eight included UNL School of Natural Resources professor Matt Andrews, whose research about squirrel hibernation could lead to improved treatment of soldiers wounded on battlefields.
In his presentation, titled “Medical Innovations Based on Hibernation in Nebraska Ground Squirrels,” Andrews discussed how ground squirrels experience biochemical and physiological changes during hibernation. Their body temperatures and heart rates decrease significantly, in ways most mammals do not.
With better understanding of that process, Andrews said, researchers could develop potential therapies for people. His lab is developing a therapy for profound bleeding. It could lead to improvements in organ preservation for transplant surgeries. And it could also serve as a battlefield treatment for soldiers injured in combat, which is why the research is being funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.