On The Trail of Physiology across America: Visiting Tennessee

Next stop: Tennessee, where the Tennessee Physiological Society held their annual meeting on October 14-15, 2010 at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Dr. Polly Hofmann, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center kicked off the meeting with a presentation on myocardial ischemia, which is when the blood supply to the heart muscle is reduced.

Dr. Tom Ecay from East Tennessee State University then presented his research on the importance of calcium during embryonic development.

Dr. Kevin Currie at Vanderbilt University Medical Center then presented his research on how calcium regulates the release of hormones.

Dr. John Bannister, a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center then discussed how smooth muscle cells in blood vessels control the diameter of blood vessels by causing them to constrict (get smaller) or dilate (get larger).

The final presentation and Keynote Address was given by Dr. Kevin L. Kirk, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, and Neurobiology at the Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham. His research focuses on understanding a chloride channel that is dysfunctional in cystic fibrosis.

I look forward to seeing what will be presented at the meeting next year!