I am a medically trained physiologist studying how the brain controls the delivery of oxygen to the body, the removal of carbon dioxide and the maintenance of normal acid level in the blood. This branch of physiology is well known to anyone who has studied 'ABC' in a first aid programme. My work concerns the coordination of the breathing and blood pressure centres in the brain. It is crucial in the understanding of diseases such as obstructive sleep apnoea and hypertension.
Stress and obesity can lead to high blood pressure and greatly increase the risk of life threatening cardiovascular events. This application seeks to determine which chemicals and parts of the brain are responsible for amplifying the responses to repeated stress and during obesity in animal models leading to hypertension.
My research focuses on understanding pathobiological mechanisms in acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease which have large burdens on the community through health care costs and on families because of the lack of effective treatments. An improved understanding of how brain cells die and of how the most abundant brain cell, the astrocyte, can be engineered to be a resource for regenerative medicine offer promise for improved clinical management.
Imaging Atlases Of The Brain Of Humans And Experimental Animals
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$808,375.00
Summary
This project uses imaging techniques and molecular genetics to produce the next generation of brain maps. It will advance our understanding of the organisation and structure of the brain and spinal cord of humans and experimental animals – paving the way for the development of psychotherapeutic drugs and more accurate interventions on the human brain. The new maps will help those who study the brain of patients with diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s or animal models of these diseases.