Alan Lomax
PhD (Melbourne)
Assistant professor, Depts. of Medicine and Physiology
Office Tel: 613 549-6666 ext 6515
email: lomaxa@queensu.ca
The gastrointestinal tract is home to an incredibly diverse population of cell types, including bacteria, endothelial cells, immune cells, myocytes, neurons and glia. This leads to a remarkable number of intercellular interactions which together determine the behavior of the gut. My lab is interested in how interactions between the immune system and the nervous system can influence the development of gastrointestinal disease. The aim of our present research is to identify new therapeutic targets for treatments of gastrointestinal diseases by understanding how neural regulation of blood flow in the gut is altered in disease states. The mechanisms underlying altered gastrointestinal blood flow during inflammation, and whether this alteration exacerbates disease are very important unresolved issues. My lab uses a variety of physiological techniques, including patch clamp electrophysiology, neuroanatomy and video microscopy measurements of arteriolar diameter, to examine how inflammation can alter the neural control of the gut vasculature. We study the blood vessels themselves and a population of sympathetic neurons that are essential for blood flow regulation.
