Principal Investigators: William Fifer, PhD, Michael M. Myers, PhD
Dates Funded: July 2007 -June 2008
Principal Investigator: Eugene E. Nattie, MD
Dates Funded: October 2007 - present
Project: SIDS and Serotonin: Studies for Battery of Physiological Assessments in Fetuses and Infants
Description: This grant supports young investigators who have been working with senior investigators funded by the NIH in the study of the role of serotonin in the control of breathing and heart rate in early postnatal development in pharmacologically treated rats and transgenic mice.
Kevin Cummings, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow. Based on work in part supported by CJ funds he applied for and received a prestigious Parker B. Francis Fellowship that provides support for three years. He has been studying the effects of serotonin neuron depletion by toxin injection of rats at postnatal day 2 and in transgenic mice with serotonin depletion.
A paper titled "Severe spontaneous bradycardia in rat pups with fewer brainstem 5-HT neurons." by Cummings K, Li A, Nattie E, Commons K, Fan K.has been favorably reviewed by the American Journal of Physiology and acceptance is pending revision.
Karlene Barrett is a Ph.D. thesis student supported by CF funds. She is studying the control of breathing and heart rate during early postnatal development in transgenic mice.




