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About Christopher N. Wyatt

Early detection of an oxygen deficit in the bloodstream is essential to initiate corrective changes in the breathing pattern of mammals. My research focuses on the critical role in this process of specialized oxygen-sensing organs called the carotid bodies. These tiny neurotransmitter rich organs are located at the bifurcation of the carotid arteries and respond to a fall in blood pO2 and pH with transmitter release. This mechanism evokes an increase in the firing frequency of the carotid sinus nerve which innervates the respiratory centers in the brain and ultimately corrects the pattern of breathing.
The laboratory uses a combination of techniques including electrophysiology, cellular imaging, amperometry, immunocytochemistry and molecular biology to address the following questions:
1. What are the precise physiological and molecular mechanisms that underpin the oxygen-sensitivity of the carotid body?
2. How do pathological disease states that impact upon respiration alter the physiology of the carotid body? This research specifically addresses the modulation of the carotid body by chronic and chronic intermittent hypoxia.
My recent research has indicated that the energy-sensing enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase is critical in the transduction of hypoxic-signaling by the carotid body. Future research will determine the importance of this enzyme not only in acute hypoxic-signalling but also in the plasticity observed in the carotid body during such disease states as sleep apnea.
Research in the Wyatt laboratory is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Positions

2019 - Present Associate Chair for Education, Wright State University Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology
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2012 - Present Associate Professor, Wright State University Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology
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2017 - 2019 Associate Dean, Wright State University College of Science and Mathematics
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2015 - 2016 Interim Chair, Wright State University Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology
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2007 - 2012 Assistant Professor, Wright State University Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology
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Curriculum Vitae



Research Interests


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Professional Service and Affiliations

2009 - Present Ad Hoc Grant Reviewer, National Science Foundation
2007 - Present Member, The American Physiological Society
2007 - Present Member, The Ohio Physiological Society
1999 - Present Member, The Physiological Society
1993 - Present Organizing / Scientific Committee, International Society for Arterial Chemoreception
Present Reviewing Editor, The Journal of Physiology
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Honors and Awards

  • 2016 Faculty Mentor Award - Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University
  • 2011 Faculty Award for Excellence - Wright State University
  • 2011 Early Achievement Award - Wright State University
  • 2011 Annual Plenary Lecture, Physiological Society of Chile

Courses

  • Medical Cell Biology and Physiology
  • Biomedical Experimental Design
  • Biomedical Review Article
  • Channelopathies
  • Anatomy of Respiratory Control
  • Transporters and Barriers
  • Receptors/Pharmacodynamics
  • Neuroscience and Physiology. Receptor Modulation of Ion Channels
  • Neuroscience and Physiology. Control of [Ca2+ ] i
  • Neuroscience and Physiology. Ca2+ Channels
  • Neuroscience and Physiology. K+ Channels
  • Intercellular communication. Signal Transduction
  • Intercellular communication. Receptor Theory
  • Human Physiology. Team Based Learning
  • Human Physiology. Control of Breathing
  • Human Physiology. Mechanics of Breathing

Education

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1994 Ph.D., University of Leeds ‐ Pharmacology
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1991 BSc, University of Bath ‐ Pharmacology
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Contact Information

NEC Building 455
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy.
Dayton, OH 45435-0001

(937) 775-4249

Email:



Articles (43)