This laboratory is interested in the neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neuropharmacology of the central nervous system (CNS) pathways that convey pain, as well as the bulbospinal pathways that mediate the production of analgesia. Our studies emphasize a systems-level approach in which many different...

In the lab, we use genetic techniques to isolate and manipulate neurons that mediate basic physiologic functions including sleep, appetite, bladder control, and thermoregulation. My focus lies in identifying and deciphering previously unknown connections between neurons in the brainstem and other...

The mammalian brain is the most complex system in all of biology. The human brain has ~100 billion neurons and perhaps 500 trillion synapses, contact sites between neurons through which information flows. The differentiation of a vast array of distinct neuronal cell types from stem cell progenitors...

Dr. Sluka's laboratory studies the peripheral and central mechanisms of chronic musculoskeletal pain. These studies primarily involve the use of animal models of muscle pain developed and characterized in Dr. Sluka's laboratory. Current projects are aimed at deciphering the role of descending...

My laboratory has been interested in the pathogenesis of murine coronavirus infections for several years. Now, we will also study three respiratory human coronavirus infections: SARS-coronavirus, human coronavirus-OC43 and human coronavirus-NL63. Mice infected with mouse hepatitis virus develop a...