These are some of the questions exercise physiologist Dr. Darren DeLorey wants to answer as he begins his research program at the U of A.
DeLorey recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin in the department of anaesthesiology, where he looked at the sympathetic nervous system control of the peripheral circulation, including the effect of different anaesthetic agents on vascular control before joining the Faculty.
As a member of the Faculty?s exercise physiology research group he?ll be delving ever deeper into the intricacies of the cardiovascular system. ?Broadly speaking, my interest lies in the regulation of the cardiovascular system during physical stress and specifically on what are the neural and local metabolic factors involved in the regulation of skeletal muscle blood flow.?
That?s because skeletal muscle ? what most of us think of as just ?muscle? - covers our skeletons, gives our bodies shape, allows us to keep our bodies upright, and enables us to participate in the activities of daily living from housework to exercise and is dependent upon blood flow and oxygen delivery for normal function. Healthy blood flow to these important muscles can be adversely affected by disease, age and disability, thereby limiting our physical capacity.
DeLorey?s research plans include looking at the effect of aging on peripheral vascular control, chronic endurance exercise effects on blood flow control, and whether the two genders regulate skeletal muscle blood flow differently.
?It?s my goal to understand how the cardiovascular system works ? to understand what are the basic mechanisms that govern blood flow to the muscles,? says DeLorey. ?Teasing out the relative contributions of the various sympathetic nervous system neurotransmitters, the responsiveness of the associated vascular receptors and intracellular signaling pathways as well as their dynamic interactions are essential to understanding the regulation of vascular tone. That is the foundation on which everything else can be built. In conditions where things have gone wrong, you can start to figure out where there might be a problem and target treatments toward that end.?
DeLorey says the opportunity for collaborative research at the University of Alberta was one of the biggest draws in attracting him here. ?The U of A is a top-notch university in Canada and a research-intensive one that has the infrastructure to support all types of research. The opportunities to collaborate with other people are really quite excellent here.?
In addition to his research program, DeLorey will also be teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in human physiology and cardiopulmonary physiology ? his specialty area - and will be mentoring graduate students.
Teaching, he says, is one of the most fulfilling facets of professorship. ?I enjoy seeing people learning. Teaching is what provides fulfillment at the end of the day. In the lab, results are not always what you expect and they?re a long time coming, but in teaching students, if they?ve grasped a concept, there?s an immediate feeling of accomplishment.?
?My basic philosophy of teaching is that I want to have students leave the classroom better students that when they came in and have a better understanding of the material,? says DeLorey. ?Hopefully it?s a fundamental understanding where they can take what they?ve learned and apply it critically, either in things they encounter in other courses or in daily life to figure out why a response occurred. That?s much more important than memorizing facts.?
Dr. DeLorey is actively recruiting graduate students interested in further studies in the cardiovascular system and invites enquiries.
Contact Dr. DeLorey at 492-0157
Read more about Dr. DeLorey?s research at http://www.physedandrec.ualberta.ca/research_interests.cfm#delorey
Cardiovascular system?s ability to regulate blood flow influenced by many factors
22 August 2007
How does the cardiovascular system respond during physical stress such as when we run, cycle or swim? And how is its regulation influenced by age or gender or repeated exposure to physical stressors?