Professor, Medicine (GI)
Telephone: 412-648-9669
E-mail: kaa2@pitt.edu
I have a long-standing interest in the role of neurotrophic growth factors in regulation of sensory neuron functional properties. Most recently my laboratory has used transgenic/knockout mouse lines and in vitro model systems to examine how these factors (neurotrophins and GDNF family members) modulate pain signaling pathways and the response to nerve injury. These studies have provided novel insights into growth factor function at molecular, cellular and physiologic levels and their role in adult pain processing in sensory neurons following inflammatory and neuropathic damage in the peripheral tissue. These and other related projects have provided many training and educational experiences for undergraduates, predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees.