Biography

Dr. Ritzel conducted his graduate studies in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Connecticut Health Center and obtained his PhD in 2016.  He then pursued postdoctoral training at the Shock, Trauma and Anesthesiology Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he studied neuroimmune interactions and the role of aging in traumatic brain injury with Drs. David Loane and Junfang Wu.  Dr. Ritzel received the inaugural Michael Shipley Postdoctoral Award for excellence in neuroscience research and has been the recipient of NINDS F31, F32, and K99/R00 training awards.

Education

PhD
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Postdoctoral Fellowship
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Areas of Interest

Clinical Interests

  • traumatic brain injury
  • stroke
  • dementia

Research Interests

  • brain aging
  • neuroimmunology
  • traumatic brain injury
  • stroke

Research interests in Dr. Ritzel’s lab focus on neuroimmune interactions in the brain and systemic environment during normal aging and acquired brain injury (e.g., TBI and stroke). The acute phase of TBI is characterized by an innate inflammatory response in the brain that can aggravate neuronal injury, and concurrent peripheral immune suppression which can result in higher risk of infection and secondary complications. The chronic phase of TBI is characterized by slow, long-term inflammation that can drive neurodegeneration and systemic immune deficiencies. Dr. Ritzel’s research is focused on this neuroimmune crosstalk after TBI and the mechanisms underlying injury-induced immune senescence. Using experimental model systems, our goal is to identify and target immune signaling pathways that go awry after TBI to mitigate neurodegeneration, improve long-term functional outcome, and better understand the bidirectional relationship between the brain and the immune system.

Publications

Visit the PubMed profile page

  1. Ritzel RM, Li Y, Lei Z, Carter J, He J, Choi HMC, Khan N, Li H, Allen S, Lipinski MM, Faden AI, Wu J. Functional and transcriptional profiling of microglial activation during the chronic phase of TBI identifies an age-related driver of poor outcome in old mice. Geroscience. 2022 Apr 22. doi: 10.1007/s11357-022-00562-y. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35451674.
  2. Ritzel RM, He J, Li Y, Cao T, Khan N, Shim B, Sabirzhanov B, Aubrecht T, Stoica BA, Faden AI, Wu LJ, Wu J. Proton extrusion during oxidative burst in microglia exacerbates pathological acidosis following traumatic brain injury. Glia. 2021 Mar;69(3):746-764. doi: 10.1002/glia.23926. Epub 2020 Oct 22. PMID: 33090575; PMCID: PMC7819364.
  3. Ritzel RM, Doran SJ, Barrett JP, Henry RJ, Ma EL, Faden AI, Loane DJ. Chronic Alterations in Systemic Immune Function after Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2018 Jul 1;35(13):1419-1436. doi: 10.1089/neu.2017.5399. Epub 2018 May 3. PMID: 29421977; PMCID: PMC5998829.
  4. Ritzel RM, Lai YJ, Crapser JD, Patel AR, Schrecengost A, Grenier JM, Mancini NS, Patrizz A, Jellison ER, Morales-Scheihing D, Venna VR, Kofler JK, Liu F, Verma R, McCullough LD. Aging alters the immunological response to ischemic stroke. Acta Neuropathol. 2018 Jul;136(1):89-110. doi: 10.1007/s00401-018-1859-2. Epub 2018 May 11. PMID: 29752550; PMCID: PMC6015099.
  5. Ritzel RM, Patel AR, Spychala M, Verma R, Crapser J, Koellhoffer EC, Schrecengost A, Jellison ER, Zhu L, Venna VR, McCullough LD. Multiparity improves outcomes after cerebral ischemia in female mice despite features of increased metabovascular risk. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jul 11;114(28):E5673-E5682. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1607002114. Epub 2017 Jun 23. PMID: 28645895; PMCID: PMC5514696.