FACULTY LIST
 Melinda R. Dwinell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Phone: (414) 456-4498
Email: mrdwinel@mcw.edu
B.S. Biology/Psychology, University of Michigan, 1990
M.S./Ph.D. Veterinary Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California-San Diego, 1996-2001
My current research examines the neurophysiological mechanisms controlling breathing during development. Maturation of the ventilatory control system takes place following birth, although the factors influencing this maturation remain under investigation. Our studies use different animal models to gain insight into the time-course of normal development of the ventilatory control system, as well as the effect of environmental and genetic influences on these changes during development. A newborn piglet model is being used to determine whether a critical window of development exists in the ventilatory control system that has been proposed as a part of a triple-risk model in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In addition, the interaction of plasticity and genetic influences is being studied using inbred strains of rats exposed to perinatal hyperoxia. In combination, these studies are aimed at understanding how the ventilatory control system matures under both normal and stressed conditions.
Recent Publications:
Forster HV, Dwinell MR, Hodges MR, Brozoski D, Hogan GE. Do genes on rat chromosomes 9, 13, 16, 18, and 20 contribute to regulation of breathing? Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2003 May 30;135(2-3):247-61.
Hodges MR, Forster HV, Papanek PE, Dwinell MR, Hogan GE. Ventilatory phenotypes among four strains of adult rats. J Appl Physiol. 2002 Sep;93(3):974-83.
Dwinell MR, Kazemi H, Lam JT, Powell FL. Central amino acid neurotransmitters, ventilatory output and metabolism during acute hypoxia in anesthetized rats. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2001;499:291-6.
Olson EB Jr, Bohne CJ, Dwinell MR, Podolsky A, Vidruk EH, Fuller DD, Powell FL, Mitchel GS. Ventilatory long-term facilitation in unanesthetized rats. J Appl Physiol. 2001 Aug;91(2):709-16.
|
© 2005 Medical College of Wisconsin |
 |
