- Department
- Email Address
- [email protected]
- Research Areas
- Research Keywords
- Research Description
My laboratory is interested in understanding the mechanisms which control sympathetic outflow and the resultant effects on blood pressure regulation. We seek to apply exercise and nutritional interventions as therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular disease states (e.g. hypertension). We are also interested in optimizing exercising rehabilitation strategies to maximize cardiorespiratory fitness.
- Research Summary
The primary aim of my research is to better understand the mechanisms that control, and functional consequences of, sympathetic outflow at rest and during stress in humans with and without cardiovascular disease. To uncover these mechanisms, my laboratory employs direct intra-neural recordings of postganglionic sympathetic traffic, studying both multi- and single-fibre preparations. Additionally, we are also interested in understanding the mechanisms responsible for the large inter-individual variability in blood pressure responses to stress, as well as testing novel interventions to reduce resting blood pressure, a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- Techniques Used
Microneurography (multi- and single-unit muscle sympathetic nerve activity)
Pulse wave velocity (arterial stiffness)
Doppler ultrasound (peripheral blood flow)
Photoplethysmography (beat-to-beat blood pressure)
Electrocardiography (heart rate)
Heart rate variability
Baroreflex sensitivity
Mental stress
Exercise- Lab Equipment
Microneurography systems x2
Blood pressure monitors (discrete and ambulatory)
Lower body pressure tank
Exercise equipment- Locations of international collaborators
Austrailia, Japan, Brazil.
- Links