Fuller and Smuder Awarded NIH R01 for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Drs. Dave Fuller and Ashley Smuder were recently awarded an NIH R01 grant to study the impact of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) on respiratory neuromuscular recovery after spinal cord injury.  They will investigate their hypothesis that HBO, delivered in the acute phases after cervical spinal cord injury, attenuates diaphragm atrophy and dysfunction, reduces cervical spinal cord pathology, and improves respiratory neuromuscular recovery.  Dr. Smuder’s laboratory will evaluate diaphragm muscle function, and Dr. Fuller’s laboratory will evaluate neural function.