Jenkins, Michael, PhD

In recent years, it has become clear that modulating the autonomic nervous system has great potential for treating diseases.

Neuromodulation of the vagus nerve has shown potential to treat several diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, hypertension, obesity, heart failure, and coma. Neuromodulation devices potentially have several advantages over pharmaceuticals including reduced side effects and more spatially targeted treatment. Neuromodulation is typically achieved with electrodes, but the development of alternative or complementary neuromodulation devices that produce unique physiologic responses are needed to realize the full potential.

We have recently shown that infrared neuromodulation (IRN) induces unique patterns of physiological responses that cannot be elicited by electrical current or drugs when applied to peripheral and central structures (e.g., ganglia, brainstem). We are currently investigating the mechanisms of action and determining whether IRN has the potential to map/decode autonomic circuitry, and as a clinical device.

A congenital heart defect (CHD) is an evident structural anomaly of the heart or thoracic great vessels with real or potential functional impact. Among all birth defects, CHDs are one of the most common and devastating, afflicting 32,000 babies born in the United States each year and over 1 million Americans alive today. Our group develops new technology to study structure/function relationships in the developing heart.

For more information, visit jenkinslab.com