Dr. McCray's lab is focused on investigating forms of hereditary neuropathy, including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), which is the most common genetic neurological condition worldwide. He believes that a better understanding of how specific genetic mutations cause neuropathy will not only help to identify treatments for affected CMT patients but may also provide general insights regarding pathways that are important to nerve health. Such insights into fundamental aspects of nerve biology and health can then be applied across neurologic research.
While there are over 100 genes that are connected with hereditary neuropathy, Dr. McCray focuses on TRPV4, which is the gene that causes CMT type 2C. It is unique because it is the only ion channel that is mutated in CMT, which makes this form of CMT potentially treatable with drugs that alter the activity of the channel. By studying how this channel causes nerve degeneration and the pathways it activates, Dr. McCray believes that we can develop a successful treatment for CMT2C and also identify ways in which TRPV4 drugs could be useful for other neurological diseases.