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.
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.