John Collister, DVM, PhD

Dr. Collister's lab studies hormone systems that interact with central nervous system regulation during hypertension and heart failure, two cardiovascular disease conditions that have high mortality and morbidity. Primarily, the lab is focused on the link between hormonal systems (such as the renin angiotensin system), central sites of action of these hormones and the regulation of sympathetic nervous system outflow. The lab has focused their attention on the plasma hormone, angiotensin II, and examined its role in blood pressure regulation and the pathophysiology of heart failure at 3 specific brain regions (the area postrema, subfornical organ and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis) known as circumventricular organs. These areas lack the normal blood brain barrier and are therefore accessible by circulating peptide hormones. It is thought that hormones, such as angiotensin II, act at these sites, cause downstream neural activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn is linked to hypertension and chronic decreases in myocardial function after myocardial infarction. Dr. Collister's lab uses the rat as a model of hypertension or heart failure in our experiments. They also use state of the art radiotelemetry to continuously measure arterial pressure and heart rate in conscious, freely moving, rats for up to 6 months, and echocardiography to measure ejection fractions in rats with post myocardial infarctions. The lab currently uses an adenoviral vector delivery system for overexpression of superoxide dismutase in specific areas of the brain to reveal the role of superoxide in the pathophysiology of heart failure and hypertension.

Lastly, as part of a recent semester leave, currently the lab has begun a collaborative effort with Dr. Tim Johnson examining the gut microbiome and its role in animal models of hypertension and salt sensitive hypertension.

• Teaching, Physiology, Micro-anatomy
• Curriculum Director

Primarily, my lab studies the link between hormonal systems (such as the renin angiotensin system), central sites of action of these hormones and the regulation of sympathetic nervous system outflow. We have focused on the plasma hormone, angiotensin II, and its role in blood pressure regulation and the pathophysiology of heart failure at 3 specific brain regions (the area postrema, subfornical organ and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis) known as circumventricular organs. We apply state of the art radiotelemetry to continuously measure arterial pressure and heart rate in conscious, freely moving, research subjects.

• CVM6900 Veterinary Microanatomy, instructor and coordinator
• CVM 6901 Physiology, cardiovascular section, instructor
• CVM 6913 Agents of Disease, instructor and coordinator
• CMB8303 Animal Models of Disease, instructor and coordinator
• CVM6906 Critical Scientific Reading, group leader
• GOALECVM 6000 Gopher Orientation and Leadership Experience, mentor