My research interests focus on the anatomy, physiology and pharmacology of the neural pathways regulating airway defensive reflexes and how immune mechanisms alter airway neural function. I am especially interested in describing the central processing of sensory-related information arising from the airways and defining how this information is integrated into the central pathways involved in the autonomic regulation of airway smooth muscle tone and the cough reflex. The overall goal of my research is to describe how the nervous system may contribute to the symptoms of respiratory disease, thereby identifying novel targets for therapeutic interventions. My lab uses a range of techniques including cell and animal physiology, construction of novel recombinant viruses, neuroanatomical tracing, and human functional brain imaging.