Stocker Lab

Sean D. Stocker, Ph.D.

Lab Interest:
Our laboratory investigates how the central nervous system contributes to cardiovascular disease (hypertension, congestive heart failure). Project 1 focuses on the role of the central nervous system in obesity-induced hypertension. Recent clinical studies suggest that almost 2/3 of hypertension in men and women is attributed to obesity. Evidence from both humans and animals suggest that this obesity-induced hypertension is largely attributed to activation of regions and pathways in the brain to increase blood pressure. A major goal of our laboratory is to identify the central neural circuitry and cellular mechanisms that regulate blood pressure and understand how these pathways have changed in obesity-induced hypertension. Project 2 focuses on how changes in dietary salt contribute to the pathogenesis of salt-sensitive hypertension. Compelling evidence indicates that dietary salt intake influences the level of arterial blood pressure, in part, by changing the regulatory networks in the brain that regulate blood pressure. A major goal of our laboratory is to identify the cellular mechanisms that permit the brain to monitor the amount of salt in our bodies and determine how activation of these cellular mechanisms leads to changes in blood pressure.

Program Affiliations:
Physiology
PH: 717/531/0003-ext.285573, e-mail: sstocker@hmc.psu.edu