SWAGÊÓƵ

Education

My research interests focus on the mechanism in which exercise and/or chronic depression changes the immune function in context of asthma and cancer immunity. I am pursuing projects that have branched from initial findings in my lab: exercise (physical stressor) communicates with immune cells by the activation of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system (SNS). All immune cells express adrenergic receptors and can, therefore, respond to sympathetic nervous system (SNS) stimulation. Further, chronic mild depression (psychological stressor) has the capacity to affect adrenergic signaling resulting in its dysfunction of immune cells. Both stressors (physical and psychological) have been shown to affect cancer risk and/or progression (positively and negatively, respectively) although mechanisms of action remain unclear. Further, it will be important to define how these lifestyle factors may impact the newer generations of cancer immunotherapies.