Sensory Neurobiology

RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

research group

Sensory Neurobiology

Main research area of the group

Respiratory and cardiovascular homeostasis in health and disease

Leading researchers

Prof. DSc. Nikolai E. Lazarov – Faculty of Medicine, Department of
Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, MU – Sofia

Prof. Dr. Lazar Jelev – Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, MU – Sofia

Members of the research team:

Associate Professor Dimitrinka Y. Atanasova-Dimitrova, PhD;
Associate Professor Angel D. Dandov, PhD;
Professor Lina Malinova, PhD;
Professor Radoslav Girchev, PhD;
Dr. Petya Markova, PhD;
Assistant Professor Nikola Stamenov, PhD student;
Assistant Professor Andrey Ivanov, PhD student;
Assistant Professor Albert Gradev, young scientist;
Assistant Professor Vasil Iliev, young scientist

Research goals

The current project aims to: • detect the normal structure and determine neurotransmitter phenotypes of the control CB and NEB in normotensive Wistar rats (NWR) and Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) as the starting point for the assessment of their altered morphology and transmitter phenotype in hypertension. • study the potential mechanisms of CB and NEB cell hyperpla¬sia and new angiogenesis under hypertensive conditions and their physiological conse¬quences in animal models of hypertension. • gain insight into the neurotransmitter profile of chemosensory cells in the hypertensive CB and NEBs. • unravel a possible link between the hypersensitivity to hypoxia observed in SHRs and FHRs and chemical coding of CBs and NEBs. • validate the data obtained in hypertensive rat strains in humans with hypertension. A team of researchers from various disciplines, including morphologists and pathologists, physiologists, molecular biologists and geneticists will carry out this interdisciplinary project.

RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

research group