I have a research background in the study of sleep and autonomic control of thermoregulation. My research program focuses on: 1) the intersection of the CNS circuits regulating body temperature and sleep-wake state, 2) the CNS mechanisms responsible for the alterations in thermoregulation and sleep-wake state during hibernation and torpor-like states, and 3) the application of this framework to the induction of therapeutic hypothermia, particularly related to improving outcomes in models of ischemic brain injury.
My experiments are conducted in an anesthetized and free-behaving rat preparation in which electrophysiological, optogenetic, chemogenetic, pharmacological and neuroanatomical techniques are employed to describe the circuit mechanisms involved in the induction of a deeply hypothermic, hibernating-like state.
Overall, the studies on the CNS regulation of body temperature and metabolism, and of cardiovascular and cortical function during normal, hypothermic and stroke conditions will indicate how these functions are dysregulated following stroke, and how we can ameliorate these dysfunctions. Additionally, an increased knowledge about autonomic regulation during deep hypothermia will suggest approaches to manage the induction, maintenance and recovery from deep hypothermia under normal and pathological conditions.
