In humans, spinal cord injuries can have long-term physical effects due to critical cellular and molecular changes that occur during the acute phase of injury. To better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these critical and complex injuries, we are using the Drosophila embryonic nerve cord as a model to assess the effect of acute injury on gene expression. We anchored late stage embryos on coverslips and injured the ventral nerve cord using a glass needle. Control embryos were similarly treated, but not injured. Experimental and control embryos were harvested and total RNA was extracted from each sample. High-quality RNA thus generated was sequenced and analyzed. These data show that the expression levels of 700 genes changed significantly in the injured embryos in comparison to the uninjured embryos. The differential gene expression changes thus revealed are likely characteristic of the acute phase of trauma. We have functionally categorized these genes using specific gene ontology terms. We will first analyze genes pertinent for the regulation of cellular processes involved in axon guidance, synapse growth, and the mitotic cell cycle.