Milena Samora a PhD student, was recently selected for a Research Recognition Award from the Neural Control and Autonomic Regulation section of the American Physiological Association. Melina is a Brazilian ‘sandwich’ PhD student supervised by A/Prof James Fisher in the Department of Physiology. Melina’s award follows the submission of an abstract to Experimental Biology 2020 in San Diego based on her work carried out here in Auckland.
Melina’s study investigated the potential involvement of the sympathetic nervous system in the regulation of brain blood flow during visual stimulation in humans. It was partly motivated by previous work from Associate Professor Fisher and others, documenting both heightened sympathetic nervous system activation and blunted neurovascular coupling in patients with hypertension. Milena will receive a cash prize, free registration and an invitation to give an oral presentation at the Experimental Biology 2020 in San Diego.