Postdoctoral scholar Xiao-lin He, PhD, has received the first Fritz Krauth Memorial Fellowship, a $100,000 grant to study spinal cord injuries.

Underwritten by the Paralyzed Veterans of America and its Spinal Cord Research Foundation, the annual fellowship funds research that alleviates and ultimately cures paralysis.

He, who is in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is conducting research specifically targeting the factors that inhibit axon regrowth along an injured segment of the spinal cord. The work could lead to development of regenerative drugs that effectively treat paralysis.

"My goal is to clear the way for the regeneration of those injured nerve cells," He said.

Fritz Krauth, the namesake of the fellowship, was a veteran who had a spinal cord inury. Krauth later was captain of the 1964 Olympic gold-medal winning wheelchair basketball team. Before he died last year, he contributed the funds that launched the fellowhip.

An 11 a.m. luncheon tomorrow at Fairchild Auditorium will honor He, who will also speak at the event.