Conversations Unplugged
with Dr. Brandon Crawford
Dr. Brandon Crawford developed a laser powerful enough to penetrate deeper into the body without generating the excessive heat that can limit traditional high-powered systems. Now, he’s taking that technology into regenerative medicine and brain research, including the development of an FDA clinical trial focused on neurovascular coupling. In this conversation with STEMREGEN Founder and Chief Science Officer Christian Drapeau, Dr. Crawford explains how specific wavelengths of light can influence biological processes, how he integrates STEMREGEN into his clinical protocols, and why light may become an increasingly important tool for supporting the body’s own repair mechanisms.
Dr. Brandon Crawford
Before beginning a regenerative procedure, Dr. Crawford wants the body prepared for it, comparing the process to conditioning soil before planting seeds. From there, his team uses light as part of a broader strategy to support where repair is needed, followed by targeted activities designed to reinforce the process. The final step is repetition at home, particularly when working with the brain. “Repetition is the language of the brain,” Dr. Crawford explains, so lasting change depends on continuing to give the nervous system the right inputs.
STEMREGEN has also become part of that clinical approach. Dr. Crawford says he uses it throughout his practice, particularly alongside regenerative procedures, with the goal of supporting the release of the patient’s own circulating stem cells. He tells Christian that after incorporating STEMREGEN into these protocols, his team observed better outcomes in their patients. For Dr. Crawford, the combination reflects the larger philosophy behind his work: rather than relying on a single intervention, create the conditions that allow multiple parts of the body’s repair system to work together.
His next major focus is the brain. Dr. Crawford is designing an FDA clinical trial to investigate whether applying his laser over major arteries supplying the brain can improve neurovascular coupling, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure the response. He describes an early observation in which his research team measured a dramatic change after just 30 seconds of laser application, an observation that helped shift his research direction from migraine toward brain circulation. The broader possibilities are still being studied, but that is exactly what excites both Dr. Crawford and Christian: follow the evidence, document what happens, and continue exploring what light can do when it is used to influence the body’s own biology.
