Qualifications:

• BSc
• BVSc
• PhD
• MRCVS

Jon graduated from the University of Bristol in 2013. After a brief period working in South Africa, he returned to the UK and worked in mixed vet practice for 18 months. He subsequently completed a 1-year rotating internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery from 2015-2016.

Jon developed a research interest in spinal cord injury and completed a PhD in regenerative medicine and neuroscience at the University of Bristol in 2019 investigating modified olfactory ensheathing cell transplantation. He subsequently spent 2 years at the Royal Veterinary College as a postdoctoral researcher working to develop an “intelligent neuroprosthesis” to manage incontinence after spinal cord injury. He started at Highcroft Referrals as Resident in Neurology in July 2022.

Publications and research:

• Prager J, Fenn J, Plested M, Escauriaza L, Merwe TV, King B, Chari D, Wong LF, Granger N. (2022). Transplantation of encapsulated autologous olfactory ensheathing cell populations expressing chondroitinase for spinal cord injury: A safety and feasibility study in companion dogs. J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 16(9):788-798. DOI: 10.1002/term.3328
• Sadrafshari S, Metcalfe B, Donaldson N, Granger N, Prager J, Taylor J. (2022). The Design of a Low Noise, Multi-Channel Recording System for Use in Implanted Peripheral Nerve Interfaces. Sensors (Basel) Apr 30;22(9):3450. doi: 10.3390/s22093450
• Prager J, Ito D, Carwardine DR, Jiju P, Chari DM, Granger N, Wong LF (2021). Delivery of chondroitinase by canine mucosal olfactory ensheathing cells alongside rehabilitation enhances recovery after spinal cord injury. Exp Neurol. 340:113660. DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113660
• Prager J, Adams CF, Delaney AM, Chanoit G, Tarlton JF, Wong LF, Chari DM, Granger N. (2020). Stiffness-matched biomaterial implants for cell delivery: clinical, intraoperative ultrasound elastography provides a ‘target’ stiffness for hydrogel synthesis in spinal cord injury. J Tissue Eng. 2;11:2041731420934806. DOI: 10.1177/2041731420934806
• Metcalfe B, Granger N, Prager J, Sadrafshari S, Grego T, Taylor J, Donaldson N. (2020). Selective Recording of Urinary Bladder Fullness from the Extradural Sacral Roots. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020:3873-3876. DOI: 10.1109/EMBC44109.2020.9176038
• Ito D, Carwardine D, Prager J, Wong LF, Kitagawa M, Jeffery N, Granger N. (2019). Methods of olfactory ensheathing cell harvesting from the olfactory mucosa in dogs. PloS one, 14(3), e0213252. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213252
• Carwardine D, Prager J, Neeves J, Muir EM, Uney J, Granger N, Wong LF. (2017). Transplantation of canine olfactory ensheathing cells producing chondroitinase ABC promotes chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan digestion and axonal sprouting following spinal cord injury. PLoS One. Dec 11;12(12):e0188967. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188967
• Hulse RP, Beazley-Long N, Hua J, Kennedy H, Prager J, Bevan H, Qiu Y, Fernandes ES, Gammons MV, Ballmer-Hofer K, Gittenberger de Groot AC, Churchill AJ, Harper SJ, Brain SD, Bates DO, Donaldson LF. (2014) Regulation of alternative VEGF-A mRNA splicing is a therapeutic target for analgesia. Neurobiol Dis. Nov;71:245-59. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.08.012.