NCAR Election
NCAR will be holding an election in April to
select two new members and a new Chair for the Steering Committee. If you
are interested in running for a seat on the steering committee or would like
to nominate someone, please send your name(s) to Jeanne Seagard (jseagard@mcw.edu)
or any of the other committee members listed at the end of this newsletter
by February 1. A slate of candidates will be presented at the
reception/business meeting on April 13, 2003 during the EB meeting, and a
ballot will be sent out shortly after the meeting.
Abstract Deadline Is Nov. 13
The deadline for submission of abstracts
for the 2003 EB Meeting is November 13. In addition to the regular
topic categories listed for poster sessions under NCAR (Page 78 of
EB Call for Abstracts and Preliminary Program),
you can also submit your abstract to one of the NCAR sponsored
Featured Topics. The topic numbers and titles are as follows:
- FEATURED TOPICS
- 1150-APS - The Regulation of Sympathetic Nerve
Activity in Chronic Heart Failure
- 1151-APS - Oxidant Mechanisms in Neural Control of
Cardiovascualr Function
- 1151-APS - Identifying Genes and Targets in
Cardiovascular Autonomic Pathophysiology States
- POSTERS
- 1153-APS - Neural control of cardiovascular
function
- 1154-APS - Central autonomic regulation
- 1155-APS - Neural mechanisms in hypertension
There are numerous awards that are available for graduate
students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty/academic members.
Many of these are abstract driven and are due at or near the time of
abstract submission. These include the APS Caroline tum Suden and
Procter and Gamble Awards and the NCAR Brody and Young Investigator
Awards. A complete listing of these awards is on Page 4 of the
EB Call for Abstracts and Preliminary Program and on the APS
website at http://www.the-aps.org/awards.htm. The awards have
changed this year and the section awards will also provide
complementary registration in addition to the monetary travel award.
In addition, there are society awards that are not abstract driven and
these can also be found at the same website. Please check the
qualifications for these awards and take advantage of these
opportunities.
Lila P. LaGrange Wins
Procter and Gamble Award
The 2002 Procter and Gamble Professional
Opportunity Award was received by Lila P. LaGrange, Ph.D., University of
Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. La Grange presented a paper
entitled "Acutely administered Losartan effectively restores the attenuated
renal sympathoinhibitory response to volume expansion in rats chronically
treated with angiotensin II (AII)". Dr. LaGrange is a graduate student in
the laboratory of Dr. Vernon Bishop.
Angela J. Grippo Receives the Michael J.
Brody Award
Angela J. Grippo, Department of Psychology, University of Iowa
was the recipient of the 2002 Michael J. Brody Young Investigator
Award. Ms. Grippo is working with Dr. Kim Johnson. Her presentation
was entitled �Cardiovascular alterations and elevated cardiac
sympathetic tone in the chronic mild stress rodent model of
depression.�
The Michael J. Brody award recognizes a
promising young scientist who has made a significant research
contribution to the understanding of neural control and autonomic
regulation. The award was named in honor of the late Michael J. Brody,
whose work was instrumental in furthering our understanding of central
mechanisms involved in control of the cardiovascular system. Dr.
Brody placed great emphasis on the importance of developing young
scientists. The award is co-sponsored by the Neural Control and
Autonomic Regulation Section of the APS and Merck Pharmaceuticals.
The participation of the section
and section members at the annual Experimental Biology meeting in Orlando
was outstanding. Submission of abstracts remained high and attendance at
our section sponsored programming also was outstanding. The meeting was
highlighted by the Carl Ludwig Distinguished Lectureship, given by Dr.
Suzanne Oparil, M.D. entitled "The Anterior Hypothalamic Area:
Gatekeeper in the Pathogenesis of Salt-Sensitive Hypertension". Dr.
Oparil was honored at our section social, and participated in our
traditional breakfast with the Distinguished Lecturer for students and
postdoctoral fellows. NCAR also sponsored or co-sponsored symposia entitled
"Neural Control of the Cerebral Circulation, chaired by William T. Talman.
Our Featured Topics included "Hypothalamic PVN Neuromodulatory Mechanisms in
Autonomic Regulation, chaired by Glenn M. Toney and J.E. Stern;
"Sensory Afferents and Cardiovascular Regulation", chaired by Donna Wang
and Steven Mifflin; and "Chemoreflexes in Health and Disease: Recent
Perspectives in Cardiovascular Control", chaired by Harold Schultz.
In addition, NCAR organized a Special Topics Forum at EB2002 - "Re-examining
the Antihypertensive Effects of Brain AV3V Lesions: Where are we now?"
Despite a flurry of work on this area in the early 1980�s regarding
the observation that lesion of the AV3V region reversed many forms of
hypertension, the mechanisms underlying the remarkable effects of these
lesions have remained obscure and interest in this region declined. The
goal of this NCAR Special Topics Forum was to encourage discussion of this
effect of AV3V lesions, with discussants Drs. A.K. Johnson, S. Oparil, V.
Brooks, and W.W. Blessing spending 5 minutes addressing the
question: �In the year 2002, what, if anything, should we think about the
antihypertensive actions of AV3V lesions?� The lively discussion was then
opened to all participants. We plan to have a similar interactive topics
forum this year following the Ludwig lecture. The title of the forum is
"Role of the A5 cell group in autonomic regulation: how to study the role of
a brain area in integrated autonomic control."
All of these programs were outstanding, and the
attendance was high. We should all thank Dr Alan Sved for his great
work on programming. Members are urged to continue their active
participation at the Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego on April
11-15, 2003. NCAR sponsored programming is listed later in this newsletter.
NCAR Young Investigator
Awards Given at EB 2002
The annual NCAR
Young Investigator Awards were given out at the NCAR reception this
year at the Experimental Biology Meeting. This award provides travel
support ($500) and registration to junior investigators to present
meritorious research. A total of four awards were given this year to
the following applicants:
- Heidi L. Collins,
Ph.D., Department of Physiology,
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
-
"Post-exercise alpha-adrenergic
receptor hypo-responsiveness in T5 spinal rats"
- Frank A. Dinenno, Ph.D.,
Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, MN
-
"Aging and forearm a-adrenergic
responsiveness in humans"
- Yi-Fan Li, M.D., Ph.D.,
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
- "Enhanced NMDA receptor function within the
paraventricular nucleus of rats with heart failure"
- Xiuying Ma, M.D.,
Ph.D., University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
- "Direct activation
of sympathetic neurons by angiotensin is mediated by both protein
kinaseC-dependent and PKC-independent mechanisms"
NCAR will be awarding at least two Young Investigator Awards at
every EB Meeting. More awards will be possible, based on the number
of abstracts submitted for our section's programming. NCAR will be
able to award 4 for these awards for EB 2003. To be eligible, the
investigator must have a Ph.D., M.D., or other professional degree
with an academic rank or equivalent not higher than that of Assistant
Professor and conduct either basic or clinical research in a field of
neural control and autonomic regulation. To apply, the investigator
must submit a first-authored abstract to any appropriate neural
control topic of the Experimental Biology meeting. Award criteria
will be based on current work reflected in the abstract and overall
contributions to the field. A copy of the abstract and a CV from the
investigator must be received by December 1, 2002 by the
Member-at-Large of the NCAR Steering Committee, Dr. Robin Davisson,
Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology,
University of Iowa, 1-570 BSB, Iowa City, IA, 52242. The abstracts
will be judged by the NCAR Steering Committee and the most meritorious
applications will be awarded.
APS Award Winners
Two members of the NCAR Section received APS
Young Investigator Awards at EB 2002. The Arthur C. Guyton Young
Investigator Award ($15,000) was given to Dr. Simon C. Malpas,
Auckland University Medical School, Auckland, New Zealand, and the Shih-Chun
Wang Young Investigator Award ($12,000) was given to Dr. Jeffrey T. Potts,
Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Each award is
designated for the use in the awardee's research program. We are proud of
both of our members who won these prestigious awards. Methods for applying
for these awards is found on the APS website at
http://www.the-aps.org/awards.htm.
EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY MEETING
APRIL 11-15, 2003
San Diego, CA
Many events are planned for the
annual Experimental Biology Meeting. These include the Carl Ludwig
Distinguished Lecture on Saturday, April 12 and a reception and business
meeting on Sunday, April 13. In addition, we have a lot of interesting
programming, including one symposium and three featured topics sponsored by
NCAR. These events are outlined below.
Check your program and the APS website for additional information on these
and other sessions of interest.
- Sponsored Symposium
-
- Neurogenic Hypertension, Chaired
by Alan Sved (Speakers include Vito Campese, Murray Esler, Alan Sved,
and Ronald Victor) Sunday, April 13, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
-
- Sponsored Featured Topics
-
- Identifying Genes and Targets in
Cardiovascular Autonomic Pathophysiological States, Chaired by Julian
Paton Tuesday, April 13, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
-
- Oxidant Mechanisms in Neural
regulation of Cardiovascular Function, Chaired by Robin Davisson
- Sunday, April 13, 3:15 pm -
5:15 pm
-
- The Regulation of Sympathetic
Nerve Activity in Chronic Heart Failure, Chaired by Irving Zucker
- Saturday, April 12,
3:15 pm - 5:15 pm
-
-
Dr. John Coote
Carl Ludwig Distinguished Lecturer for EB 2003
"The Significance for Circulatory Control of the Paraventricular Nucleus"
Saturday, April 12, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
The Carl Ludwig Distinguished Lecture at
Experimental Biology 2003 will be given by Dr. John Coote, University
of Birmingham, UK. This lectureship is named in honor of Carl Ludwig in
recognition of his many and important contributions to understanding
autonomic regulatory mechanisms. The lectureship is sponsored by the Neural
Control and Autonomic Regulation Section of the American Physiological
Society.
Dr. Coote is Professor and Head of the Department
of Physiology at the University of Birmingham, UK. Research in Dr.
Coote's laboratory focuses on functional and anatomical aspects of central
nervous cardiovascular regulation and blood pressure control. Dr. Coote has
been a leader in research leading to understanding of the cellular
mechanisms underlying autonomic nervous activity patterns in both animals
and humans. Studies have been mainly concerned with how the brain generates
a pattern of activity in sympathetic outflows to the heart and various
vascular beds which are fundamental to different types of behavior
associated with survival, enabling an adequate defense against life
threatening stimuli. Some examples are the "fight or flight" response,
exercise, energy conservation and balance, fluid volume regulation,
temperature regulation and even sleep. For this purpose, Dr. Coote and
colleagues have conducted anatomical studies to locate neurons and trace
pathways and to identify neurotransmitters using immunohistochemistry.
Functional studies have been performed using electrophysiological and
neuropharmacological approaches to determine the influence of identified
neurons and pathways in altering sympathetic activity in animals and
parasympathetic activity to the heart in humans. Experiments involve the
recording of sympathetic activity and vascular and cardiac parameters in
anesthetized animals and humans.
Dr. Coote will also attend the NCAR
Reception/Business meeting on Sunday, April 13, at 6:30 pm in the
Marriott Hotel. Please attend and use this opportunity to meet Dr. Coote
and mingle with other NCAR members.
FASEB Summer Research Conference
Snowmass Village, Colorado
�Neural Mechanisms in Cardiovascular Regulation�
July 20-25, 2002
The 2002 FASEB Summer Research Conference on
�Neural Mechanisms in Cardiovascular Regulation� was held in Snowmass
Village, Colorado, from July 20-25. The purpose of the conference was
to bring together investigators and trainees with an interest in neural
control of the cardiovascular system in an informal setting that
facilitates scientific and personal interactions, and career development
of younger scientists. The speakers and participants represented
diverse areas ranging from cellular and molecular studies of sensory
transduction and neural transmission to studies of integrated physiology
in anesthetized and conscious animals to studies in humans. The meeting
was well attended with approximately 135 participants, with over 25%
being women and a large percentage of international attendees. There
were nine sessions of oral presentations, including:
-
Mechanisms of Sensory Transduction in the Cardiovascular System
-
Neural Transmitters and Techniques in the Brainstem
-
Exciting the RVLM: What Drives the Activity of RVLM Vasomotor
Neurons?
-
Contributions by the Brain in Hypertension
-
Forebrain Mechanisms and Neurohumoral Control
-
Central Control of Blood Pressure and Fluid Homeostasis: The
Functional Genomics Era
-
Regulation of Circulation by Higher Brain Centers
-
Origins of Cardiovascular Variability and Its Functional
Implications
-
Mechanisms of Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System in Aging,
Obesity, and Heart Failure.
Each session contained four to five presentations by invited speakers,
followed by ~1-hour informal discussion periods, typically containing
brief presentations by young investigators.
Sixty-three abstracts were submitted for poster presentations. The
posters were displayed throughout the duration of the conference. A
2-hour poster session that included discussion among the posters and
oral presentations by recipients of the Trainee Travel Awards was well
attended.
The success of the conference and the importance of continuing to meet
on this topic was unanimously affirmed. It was decided that the
conference should meet again in two years (2004) with our first choice
for conference site to again be Snowmass Village, Colorado. The
decision to meet again in two years was based on the anticipated rapid
progress in this area of research and the desire to avoid conflict with
the IUPS meeting scheduled in 2005. The second choice for conference
site was Saxton�s River, Vermont. It was decided that July was the
preferred time for the conference and that the Chair and Co-chair for
the next meeting will be Dr. Meredith Hay of the University of Missouri
and Dr. Alan Sved of the University of Pittsburgh, respectively.