Dr. Jorge D. Miranda is the Director of the Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility and Professor of Physiology at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus. His research is in the area of cell survival and nerve regeneration after trauma to the central nervous system. Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a series of time-dependent changes at the lesion site, producing a non-permissive or repulsive environment for cell survival and axonal outgrowth. Among the molecular and cellular events triggered by the physical injury to the spinal cord are: necrosis, blood vessel damage, formation of free radicals, edema, infiltration of cells from the immune system, inflammation, axotomy, demyelination, apoptosis and gliosis. The end result from these events is the reduction in sensory and locomotor activity. Therefore, a multi-active compound is necessary to target most of the detrimental events initiated by the injury. We are studying the effects of estradiol or tamoxifen, as neuroprotective agents, to improve functional locomotor recovery after SCI.