Dr. Victor Marder's research is directed towards establishing a novel and effective treatment of acute stroke. For patients whose stroke is caused by a clot, which blocks a major artery to the brain, Marder is developing therapy with an agent, plasmin, which has the potential to dissolve the clot without risk of bleeding complications. A federal grant from the National Institutes of Health funds this work, which is being done in collaboration with the neurology department, to perform a Phase I study in patients with acute stroke.

In collaboration with colleagues in the hematology/oncology division, department of neurology, and basic scientists at Bayer Health Corp. (Research Triangle, North Carolina), Marder is establishing an animal model of embolic stroke, in order to compare plasmin with the standard of care agent, TPA. These experiments will evaluate the relative efficacy and safety of plasmin and assist in determining an appropriate dosage of plasmin to be utilized in the subsequent Phase I study in human stroke.