Birren Lab
We study the development of cardiac noradrenergic and cholinergic systems in the peripheral nervous system
Modulatory neurotransmitter systems can profoundly influence circuit function and behavior. These effects range from learning and memory processes to the control of peripheral organ function.
Developmental signals play critical roles in establishing normal adult functions of these modulatory systems in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. When regulation of these systems is disrupted, it can lead to the progression of pathological states such as heart disease and developmental disorders.
Lab Members
Susan Birren
Principle Investigator
Marian Haburcak
Research Associate
Melda Buyukozturk
PhD Candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology
Josh Harrison
PhD Candidate in Neuroscience
Yi (Brian) Zhang
Master's Student in Biotechnology '23
Nathalie Vieux-Gresham
Undergraduate '23
Petra Dujmic
Undergraduate '24
Recent Publications
Haburčák M, Harrison J, Buyukozturk MM, Sona S, Bates S, Birren SJ. "Heightened sympathetic neuron activity and altered cardiomyocyte properties in spontaneously hypertensive rats during the postnatal period." Front Synaptic Neurosci. 2022 Sep 30;14:995474. doi: 10.3389/fnsyn.2022.995474. PMID: 36247695; PMCID: PMC9561918.
Clyburn C, Birren SJ. Nature. 2022 May;605(7908):32-34. "Crosstalk between nerves, immune cells and plaques drives atherosclerosis." doi: 10.1038/d41586-022-00508-6. PMID: 35478020
Enes J, Haburčák M, Sona S, Gerard N, Mitchell AC, Fu W, Birren SJ. (2020) "Satellite glial cells modulate cholinergic transmission between sympathetic neurons." PLoS One. 2020 Feb 4. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0218643
Habecker BA, Anderson ME, Birren SJ, Fukuda K, Herring N, Hoover DB, Kanazawa H, Paterson DJ, Ripplinger CM. (2016) "Molecular and cellular neurocardiology: Development, cellular and molecular adaptations to heart disease." J Physiol. 2016 Apr 6. doi: 10.1113/JP27184.
Kreipke, R.E. and Birren, S.J. (2015) "Innervating sympathetic neurons regulate heart size and the timing of cardiomyocyte cell cycle withdrawal." J. Physiol. 593:5057-73.
