The goal of the NextGen Precision Health Neuroscience Science Seminar is to highlight transdisciplinary precision research taking place in the field, provide opportunities for collaboration among researchers to build their own research efforts and promote clinical/researcher activity across the University of Missouri System and our partners.

For questions about this event, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.

“The Role of the Spinal Cord in Upper Airway Vagal Reflexes—Reconnecting the Brainstem”

Presented by: Teresa Pitts, PhD, Department Chair & Associate Professor, Speech Language & Hearing Sciences, Resident Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center Investigator, University of Missouri-Columbia

Date:  September 16, 2024, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Location: Roy Blunt Precision Health Building, Atkins Family Seminar Room

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Description

Many people following neurodegenerative and neurotraumatic diseases die as a result of impaired swallowing and inability to clear the airway with cough.  While this is known and appreciated throughout the world- the underlying cause of disordered airway protection with so many conditions is unknown. This talk with go through some potential anatomic and physiologic theories as well as sharing new data about a potential role of the autonomic nervous system.

Speaker Bio

Teresa Pitts, PhD, Department Chair & Associate Professor, Speech Language & Hearing Sciences, Resident Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center Investigator, University of Missouri-Columbia. Teresa Pitts, PhD is a clinically trained speech-language pathologist and NIH funded investigator who moved from the bedside to the bench to work on understudied problems of the upper airway.  Her work spans multiple pattern generators including swallow, cough, vocalization, and breathing. She is currently the chair of the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Department and a resident Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center Investigator.