Harba Foundation Research Partner co-authors new traumatic brain injury study
Rachel Hahn joined the Landreth Lab at the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, in June 2026 as the Harba Foundation's Research Partner. The Foundation covers the cost of her role, and she works on-site at the institute.
She is now a named author on a paper in the Journal of Neuroinflammation. It was accepted on August 15, 2026 and is available online now as an article in press.
What the study looked at
The paper is titled "Therapeutic targeting of microglial hexokinase-2 attenuates inflammasome activation and improves functional recovery after traumatic brain injury."
After a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the brain's immune cells, called microglia, can stay activated long after the initial damage. That sustained inflammation contributes to neurological problems. The team focused on hexokinase-2 (HK2), an enzyme tied to how microglia power their inflammatory response.
Working in a mouse model of severe TBI, they found HK2 levels rose within three days of injury and stayed high through day 15. Treating the mice with an HK2-blocking drug, lonidamine, improved motor coordination without affecting general movement or spatial working memory. It also reduced inflammasome activity, a key driver of inflammation, most clearly in the hippocampus. Partially reducing HK2 genetically in microglia produced similar effects.
Juan F. Codocedo, the paper's co-first author with Claudia Mera-Reina and Rachel's manager at Stark, summed it up on LinkedIn:
"These findings further support microglial metabolism, particularly HK2, as a potential therapeutic target after brain injury."
Acknowledged in the paper
The paper's funding section lists the Harba Foundation among Juan's supporters, alongside Indiana CTSI and the Indiana Department of Health. The same section credits an Alzheimer's Association grant to Claudia Mera-Reina. That's the charity our 2026 golf outing raised $8,000 for.
Why the Foundation funds research partners
The Harba Foundation pays for life sciences researchers to work inside university labs, where they add capacity to research programs and mentor younger graduates. Rachel's role at Stark is one of them.
