A number or key faculty and academic staff at the University
of Wisconsin are collaborators and co-investigators with
program trainers. They play a very significant role, enriching
the intellectual environment as well as scientific expertise
available to our trainees. These are but a few examples.
Steve Barczi, M.D. (Associate Professor
of Medicine). Dr. Barczi is working with Dr. Dempsey to
sustain research efforts formerly supervised by J. Skatrud
concerning sleep disordered breathing; he oversees the
IRB protocols pertaining to this research.
Mark Brownfield,
Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Comparative Biosciences). Dr.
Brownfield investigates serotonergic mechanisms of blood
pressure regulation. He contributes expertise in the development
of novel serotonin related antibodies, and has been invaluable
in helping trainees to debug or to interpret immunohistochemical
data. Recent collaborations indlude: Bisgard, Behan and
Mitchell.
Naomi Chesler, Ph.D. (Assistant
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering). Dr. Chesler
is interested in bioengineering applications to the pulmonary
circulation. She collaborates with Dr. Eldridge.
Nadine Connor,
Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Division of Otolaryngology).
Dr. Conner is a collaborator of Dr. Behan’s, and
investigates tongue muscle plasticity after repetitive
activity.
Burt Olson, Ph.D. (Associate
Professor, Preventive Medicine). Dr. Olson collaborates
extensively with Mitchell and Bisgard in studies on
developmental plasticity in ventilatory control, and with
Behan, Morgan and multiple others in exposing rats to intermittent
or sustained hypoxia. He is also expert at barometric
plethysmography and has helped train many pre- and
postdoctoral fellows to make ventilatory measurements in
unanesthetized rodents. He is a Co-investigator on multiple
grants with Bisgard, Behan, Morgan and Mitchell.
Dan Resnick,
M.D. (Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery). Dr. Resnick
is expert in rodent models of spinal cord injury
and has shared his equipment and expertise with multiple
trainees.
Avtar Roopra , Ph.D.
(Assistant Professor of Neurology). Dr. Roopra
is expert in epigenetics and is currently collaborating
with Mitchell concerning the impact of the NRSF/CtBP
co-repressors of histone methylation state. It
is hypothesized that this mechanism of gene regulation
effectively couples glycolytic flux with BDNF (and
other neuronal) gene expression.
DanDan Sun,
Ph.D. (Professor of Neurosurgery). Dr. Sun has
considerable expertise concerning hypoxia and/or
reoxygenation and their impact on channel function.
She has been a valuable consultant, particularly
to trainees using cell culture models of hypoxia
and/or anoxia.
Clive Svendsen,
Ph.D. (Professor of Anatomy, Neurology, Waisman
Center). Dr. Svendsen is expert in the biology
of neural progenitor cells, and genetically
modifies them to produce and secrete selected trophic
factors. He and Dr. Mitchell are working to
develop the rat model of ALS (over-expressing mutated
SOD-1) for investigations of its respiratory
impairment, compensatory plasticity and functional
recovery following the implantation of trophic
factor secreting progenitor cells.
Steven Weber,
Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Neurology and
Medicine, Director Clinical Sleep Laboratory). Dr. Weber
is a sleep disorders specialist with many
years of experience. All fellows who will conduct
their research in sleep apnea, learn the
intricacies of sleep staging via EEG
interpretation from Dr. Weber.
Justin Williams ,
Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Biomedical
Engineering). Dr. Williams collaborates with Dr. Johnson,
helping to develop important technical
approaches such as multiple electrode arrays (including
analysis) and the utilization of microfluidics
to harness selective drug applications in vitro.
Ailing Xie,
M.D., Ph.D. (Senior Scientist, Department
of Medicine). Dr. Xie is expert in sleep
disordered breathing in human subjects
and is a major part of many studies focused
on this topic. She has interacted extensively
with Drs. Skatrud and Dempsey over the
years.