Research
Main Content
With the explosion in technology for studying health and disease at the cellular, molecular and genetic levels, it is the task of the modern physiologist to integrate that information to understand function at the whole organism level. This integration brings into focus the multiple mechanisms that contribute to the myriad functions of the body in health and disease.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics at UMMC has a long history of teaching and research excellence that is recognized nationally and internationally. From its beginning, the department has been a leading center for cardiovascular research. For the past several years, the department has ranked in the top 10 for total NIH funding among all physiology departments. The department is also the home of 5 multidisciplinary research centers that offer excellent opportunities for collaborations among basic, clinical and population scientists. In addition to research, the faculty members play leading roles in national and international service to organizationa including the American Physiological Society and the American Heart Association among others.
The major current research interests of the department include:
Physiology and Biophysics Research
With the explosion in technology for studying health and disease at the cellular, molecular and genetic levels, it is the task of the modern physiologist to integrate that information to understand function at the whole organism level. This integration brings into focus the multiple mechanisms that contribute to the myriad functions of the body in health and disease.The Department of Physiology and Biophysics at UMMC has a long history of teaching and research excellence that is recognized nationally and internationally. From its beginning, the department has been a leading center for cardiovascular research. For the past several years, the department has ranked in the top 10 for total NIH funding among all physiology departments. The department is also the home of 5 multidisciplinary research centers that offer excellent opportunities for collaborations among basic, clinical and population scientists. In addition to research, the faculty members play leading roles in national and international service to organizationa including the American Physiological Society and the American Heart Association among others.
The major current research interests of the department include:
- Obesity and associated metabolic and cardiorenal disorders
- Pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia
- Sex differences in cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases
- Developmental programming of cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic diseases in adults
- Inflammatory diseases
- Mechanisms of heart failure
- Myocardial metabolism and structural remodeling
- Neurohormonal mechanisms of blood pressure control and hypertension
- Mechanisms of acute and chronic kidney injury
- Molecular mechanisms underlying vascular and sensory neuron mechanotransduction
- Circadian rhythms
- Mathematical modeling of physiological functions
Core facilities
In addition to the usual facilities for modern physiological studies, the department also has specialized core facilities:- Analytical and assay core
- Computer services
- Imaging - confocal microscopy, high resolution ultrasound, and micro-CT
- Histology core
- Mathematical modeling and computer simulation
- Transgenic core