Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core

The UF BREATHE Center explores key principles in the neural control of breathing and respiratory muscle activity, as well as clinical applications related to breathing, swallowing or cough impairment. Major areas of emphasis include fundamental studies of respiratory neuroplasticity, respiratory muscle function, neural control of the lung airways and vasculature, and opioid-induced respiratory depression. We apply new knowledge to improve function in cases of neuromuscular diseases such as ALS, Pompe and Parkinson’s disease, aging, heart failure, stroke, sepsis and cancer and traumatic brain and spinal cord injury.

	Researcher/Clinician Name	Title	Department	Cores	Specialties
	Richard Berry, MD	Professor	Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Sleep disorders, upper airway physiology, pharmacological treatment of sleep apnea, mechanisms of respiratory arousal
	Donald Bolser, PhD	Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Respiratory control, mechanisms of cough, and airway defense
	Andrew Bryant, MD	Clinical Associate Professor	Division of Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine; hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension
	Barry Byrne, MD, PhD	Professor & Associate Chair; Director	Department of Pediatrics; Gene Powell Center	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Pompe disease; gene therapy
	Erica Dale, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Physiology & Aging	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core; Spinal Cord Injury Core	Spinal stimulation induced phrenic motor plasticity; neurostimulation and functional recovery of breathing capacity after spinal injury
	Paul Davenport, PhD	Distinguished Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Respiratory control, sensation and airway defense
	David Fuller, PhD	Professor; Associate Director	Department of Physical Therapy; BREATHE Center	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core; Spinal Cord Injury Core	Spinal stimulation and recovery of breathing activity with opiate-induced respiratory depression and spinal injury; Regulation of airway muscles; hyperbaric oxygenation, intermittent hypoxia and respiratory plasticity, Pompe disease
	Karen Hegland, PhD, CCC-SLP	Associate Professor; Director	Department of Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences; Master's of Arts Degree in Communication Sciences & Disorders Program	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Cough and respiratory sensation in Parkinson's Disease
	Russell Hepple, PhD	Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Aging and toxicology of respiratory muscle
	Andrew Judge, PhD	Associate Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Sepsis, cachexia and respiratory muscles
	Sarah Judge, PhD	Research Assistant Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Skeletal muscle biology and cancer cachexia
	Christopher Kaufmann, PhD, MHS	Assistant Professor	Department of Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Sleep disorders and neurodegeneration
	Orlando Laitano, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Mechanisms underlying sepsis-induced myopathy with disuse in aging and on the pathophysiology of exertional heat stroke
	Jorge Lascano, MD	Professor	Division of Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Pulmonary critical care
	Alex Marciante, PhD	Research Assistant Scientist	Department of Physical Therapy		How the APOE4 gene interacts with other triggers of neuroinflammation to undermine respiratory plasticity in a time-of-day-dependent manner.
	Borna Mehrad, MD	Chief & Ethel Smith Research Professor	Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Lung disease
	Michela Mir, PhD, CCC-SLP	Assistant Professor	Department of Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences		Improving diagnostic and rehabilitation methods for upper airway functions in clinical populations.
	Gordon Mitchell, PhD	Preeminence Professor; Director; Deputy Director	Department of Physical Therapy; BREATHE Center; McKnight Brain Institute	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core; Spinal Cord Injury Core	Intermittent hypoxia induced respiratory plasticity, therapeutic intermittent hypoxia in spinal injury and ALS
	Nicholas Napoli, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Hyperbaric oxygenation
	Maria Nikodemova, MS, PhD	Research Associate Scientist	Department of Physical Therapy	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core; Spinal Cord Injury Core	Microglial plasticity in healthy CNS and during neurodegeneration; APOE4 phenotype, sleep apnea; the role of microglia and neuroinflammation in regulating respiratory motor plasticity during hypoxia and after spinal cord injury
	Aline Oliveira, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Neuroimmune axis contribution to pulmonary hypertension; neuroinflammation and neuroplasticity
	Sabhya Rana, PhD	Research Assistant Scientist	Department of Physical Therapy		Non-invasive spinal stimulation strategies to enhance respiratory function following spinal cord injury.
	Michael Reid, PhD	Professor; Dean	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology; College of Health & Human Performance	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Molecular biology of respiratory muscle
	Leah Reznikov, PhD	Associate Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Neural innervation of the airways, cystic fibrosis
	Emma Schachner, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Origin and evolution of major morphological and physiological innovations in vertebrates, with a focus on the evolution of the amniote respiratory system
	Yasin B. Seven, MS, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core; Spinal Cord Injury Core	Neuroprotection in spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative diseases, nanoparticle-based targeted drug delivery
	Kimberly Sibille, PhD, MA	Associate Professor; Director	Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation; Pain TRAIL	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Bridging the biomedical, behavioral, and psychosocial chasm in chronic pain
	Barbara Smith, PT, PhD	Research Assistant Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Pompe disease, diaphragm pacing; therapeutic intermittent hypoxia in ALS patients
	Ashley Smuder, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Diaphragm atrophy; response to therapeutics; HBO and diaphragm muscle inflammation in Pompe and SCI
	Ramon Sun, PhD	Associate Professor; Director	Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Center for Spatial Biomolecule Research	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core; Spinal Cord Injury Core	Cellular metabolism, signaling, and physiology; disease etiology of neurological disorders
	Tanja Taivassalo, PhD	Associate Professor	Department of Physiology & Aging	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Muscle dysfunction & therapeutics in human DMD
	Krista Vandenborne, PT, PhD	Distinguished Professor & Chair	Department of Physical Therapy	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Respiratory failure in human DMD
	Adrienn Varga, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Neuroscience	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Role of opioid-sensitive respiratory neurons in the brain in both normal breathing and under the influence of opioids
	Alicia Vose, PhD, CCC-SLP	Assistant Professor	Department of Neurology (UF Health -Jacksonville)	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core; Spinal Cord Injury Core	Acute intermittent hypoxia and respiratory strength training to enhance breathing and swallowing in people with chronic spinal cord injury; effects of diaphragm stimulation on respiratory neural drive and function
	Glenn Walter, PhD	Professor & Vice Chair	Department of Physiology & Aging	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	MRI imaging of respiratory muscles & their plasticity
	James Wymer, MD, FAAN	Professor & Division Chief	Department of Neurology	Control of Breathing & Airway Defense Core	Diagnosis and management of neuromuscular diseases, including ALS, muscle diseases and peripheral neuropathies