Emeritus Faculty
Paula Q. Barrett, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita
email: pgb4b@virginia.edu
The Ionic Regulation of Aldosterone Production in Health and Disease.
Aldosterone excess is a pathogenic factor in many hypertensive disorders. The discovery of numerous somatic and germline mutations in ion channels in Primary Hyperaldosteronism underscores the importance of plasma membrane conductances in determining the activation state of aldosterone-producing zona glomerulosa cells. In the adrenal gland, zona glomerulosa cells within their native rosette assemblies are electrically excitable, generating periodic voltage spikes and coordinated bursts of calcium oscillations, which drive aldosterone production. What conductances underlie this behavior, how their dysfunction contributes to disease and how rosette activity can be reprogramed to attain a desired level of healthy rosette performance continues to be a challenge going forward and remains an alluring interest.
James C. Garrison, Ph.D.
Professor EmeritusPatrice Guyenet, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
email: pgg@virginia.edu
Dr. Guyenet joined the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology in 1978 to pursue research focused on the autonomic nervous system and breathing. The two axes of this research, including the regulation of blood pressure and breathing automaticity, are directly linked to the prevalent problems of hypertension and breathing disorders such as sleep apnea. Dr. Guyenet has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and has published over 230 scientific articles until his official retirement in January of 2021 when his lab was officially closed and he became Professor emeritus. Since this date Dr. Guyenet has continued his involvement in Neuroscience and Pharmacology research by collaborating with Prof. Bayliss (Pharmacology) and mentoring Pharmacology Asst-Prof Abbott and his staff. Dr. Guyenet has also kept his contribution to the Pharmacology Department teaching, he has edited a two-volume book series on Respiratory neurobiology (Handbook of Clinical Neurology vols 188 & 189), written an extensive review on breathing and CO2 homeostasis, reviewed numerous manuscripts for Journals such as Science, Nature, Neuron, J Physiol and attended specialized scientific meetings.
Michael Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
email: mlj8e@virginia.edu
Research Interest: Mathematical modeling of biological processes
Selected Pubications:
Baich A and Johnson M. Evolutionary Advantage of Control of a Biosynthetic Pathway, Nature. 1968;218:464-465.
Johnson ML, Turner BW and Ackers GK, A Quantitative Model for the Cooperative Mechanism of Human Hemoglobin. Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences – U.S.A. 1984;81:1093-1097.
Johnson ML, The Analysis of Ligand Binding Data with Experimental Uncertainties in the Independent Variables. Analytical Biochemistry 148, 471-478.
Lampl M, Veldhuis JD and Johnson ML. Saltation and Stasis: A Model of Human Growth. Science. 1992;258:801-803; reprinted le Journal Internationale de Medicine 254, 45-48.
Lakowicz JR, Szmacinski H, Nowaczyk K and Johnson ML. Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging of Free and Protein-Bound NADH. Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences – U.S.A. 1992;89:1271-1275.
Johnson ML, Veldhuis PP and Evans WS. Signal-Response Modeling of Partial of Hormonal Feedback Networks. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. 2009;3:34-43.
John Lazo, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
email: lazo@virginia.edu
Professor Emerita