Directory of Experts
Details for Professor Stafford Lightman
| Personal details | |
| Name | Professor Stafford Lightman |
| Job title | Professor of Medicine |
| Department | Bristol Medical School (THS) University of Bristol |
| Contact details | This expert can be contacted via the University of Bristol Public Relations
Office. To help us deal with your request, please mention the Directory of Experts when contacting the Public Relations Office. work+44 (0)117 331 8092 email: public-relations@bristol.ac.uk |
| Qualifications | MBBChir, Ph.D.(Cantab.), FMedSci, FRCP |
| Professional details | |
| Membership of professional bodies | Fellow of United Kingdom Academy of Medical Sciences Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians |
| Keywords | diurnal and infradian rhythms stress related disorders clinical depression autonomic neuropathy cushings addisons hypothalamic & pituitary disease |
| Areas of expertise | Stress related disease is a rapidly increasing feature of our society - but the mechanisms through which it causes disease are very poorly understood. We are studying the neural pathways in the brain that transduce the CNS response to environmental stress and disease, and measure changes in gene transcription in physiologically relevant areas. We also assess how these pathways effect the efferent limb of the stress reponse by looking at neuroendocrine parameters of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal activity (including the pulsatility of corticosterone secretion), autonomic responses(both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity) and immune parameters. In addition, we are beginning to develop techniques to assess the effects of stress on atheroma formation, and the pathways that are involved. |