Year 2 BMedSc Student Selected Science Project 2016/17

Name
Keith Brain
Institute Clinical Sciences

E-mail address
k.l.brain@bham.ac.uk

Telephone
Number x47346

Project Title Methods to study sympathetic transmission in the Cardiovascular System

Outline of the Project (Brief paragraph on research area)

Sympathetic function fails in, or is implicated in the pathogenesis of, many disorders including Parkinson’s
disease and heart failure. In order to determine how and when such changes occur we need to be able to
measure sympathetic functions in a variety of different contexts. These range from laboratory conditions
testing the effects of drugs on single cells or organs, through to diagnostic clinical imaging in humans. We’ll
explore traditional techniques (amperometry, cyclic voltammetry, overflow studies, single-fibre
electrophysiology), techniques developed or being developed by our laboratory (fluorescent transporter
substrate assays, alpha-haemolysis pore mutant electrochemical detection), in vivo imaging techniques (MIBG
scanning) and future imaging probe development possibilities (including lanthanide- and fluorine- based MRI
imaging). The focus will be on the critical analysis of existing and emerging techniques, and an exploration of
the viability of future measurement approaches.