France 2003/2004

Bhutan 2003

Wedding 2003

Europe Trip 2000

Links

In 2000 I officially completed a doctoral thesis in basic (i.e. non-clinical) medical research in the Department of Physiology, University of Sydney. My PhD thesis is titled "Autonomic transmission in smooth muscle syncytia." This means I was examining both the electrical and chemical methods of signal transmission between autonomic nerves and muscle of the sympathetic system. Initially this was achieved by using a mathematical model simulating passive current flow through a block of muscle after the release of neurotransmitter has created a voltage difference between the inside and outside of cells. Later I progressed to using animal models and analysing my electrical recordings of active and passive signals to make deductions about transmission physiology. Some examples of the questions being address were which neurotransmitter (or transmitters) is involved, how is the neurotransmitter released, where is it released from, how much is released and ultimately how do the answers to these questions help us understand sympathetic control over such functions as blood pressure.

Physiology Links