The Department of Physiology is committed to excellence in the areas of research, education, and service, and has proven track records in each of these endeavors. The department is intimately tied to research and teaching programs within the dental school. Members of the Department of Physiology continue in their support of the basic-science education of the dental profession and participated in a number of courses within the school of dentistry. The course on human physiology for dental students is taught primarily by the physiology faculty who are at the dental school. The physiology faculty are also engaged in teaching a dental postgraduate course on cell biology and a nutrition course which was attended by senior students and practicing dentists of the New Orleans area. In addition, the Physiology Department coordinates dental-hygiene instruction and it is taught exclusively by the faculty at the dental school. The department is also committed to postgraduate education. The faculty are involved in training postdoctoral dental students and postgraduate students enrolled in the Master in Oral Biology degree program. The physiology faculty are also engaged in research at the dental school and with the Center for Oral Biology.

The active research areas include some major thematic areas of basic and applied research. One major thematic area focuses on acute and chronic effects of alcohol on host defense mechanisms, including oxidative injury, signal transduction, cellular and subcellular signal trafficking, cytokines, chemokines, and free radical production. Also, departmental members are engaged in research on the influence of alcohol on iron transport and metabolism and on neuroendocrine and cardiovascular responses to shock and trauma. A second area of emphasis involves the analysis of the mechanisms by which shock and inflammation affect organ function via cytokine activation, production of free radicals, oxidative injury, and macrophage function and how some of the pro-inflammatory responses are under neural and opiate control. A third area of emphasis is vascular cell biology and physiology. Within this context several investigators are engaged in the study of mechanisms underlying angiogenesis in the heart, elucidation of anti-angiogenic compounds, regulation of blood flow to the heart, and modulation of ion channel function in vascular cells by free radicals and oxidants. Other departmental programs are engaged in investigations of pulmonary function; obesity and its relationship to genetics and brain peptides; effects of caffeine on cell and organ development and neonatal bone and tooth development; lacrimal gland physiology and signal transduction; and research in computer- assisted and animated teaching methods. In addition, the department administers the Alcohol Research Center and a postdoctoral training grant, which are funded by National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Other funding for the Department is from the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Office of Naval Research; and the American Heart Association.

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