The strength of our research is the combination of small animal and human studies, spanning from cellular resolution measurements in-vivo and ex-vivo, to non-invasive measurements that can be made at the patient’s bedside or in a remote African village. This combination allows us to make discoveries in animal models and translate them into patients. Further, as questions arise in human measurements, we can then turn to more invasive animal studies to address the questions at a level not possible in humans.
Our efforts spans from developing and translating functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure human brain activity, to the clinical adoption of more advanced NIRS methods to monitor the effectiveness and appropriate dosing of analgesia in the operating room, as well as providing guidance on the maintenance of blood pressure to ensure adequate oxygen delivery to the brain during surgical procedures and for patients in the intensive care units.
We are also advancing optical microscopy methods to investigate neural and vascular behavior as a unit rather than each in isolation: neuronal activation elicits metabolic and vascular responses, while alteration of vascular anatomy and physiology impacts neuronal function.