Welcome to the NEST LAB

The Neurobiology of Emotion, Sleep, and Trauma (NEST) lab aims to determine if post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women causes vascular, neural, and hormonal changes linked to an increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Our work thus far has contributed to understanding the roles of the autonomic system and the vasculature in regulating blood pressure and blood flow during acute stress, in health and disease.

Most recently, our lab has focused on the contribution of estradiol and nitric oxide in mechanisms of autonomic and vascular abnormalities observed in women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We have a highly productive team comprising a research coordinator, three graduate students, and undergraduate students. We have generated supporting evidence for a recently funded NHLBI R03 grant to expand the research objectives of our ongoing K01, while continuing to publish manuscripts that are shedding light on the cardiovascular risk of PTSD.