| Description |
“Although stress has a "bad" reputation, it is important to appreciate that the stress response is one of nature's fundamental survival systems. Without a fight-or-flight response, a lion has no chance of making a meal out of a gazelle, and the gazelle has no chance of escaping to graze another day. Therefore, we initially hypothesized that just as the stress response prepares the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and neuroendocrine systems for fight or flight, it may also prepare the immune system for challenges (e.g. wounding or infection) that may be imposed by a stressor (e.g. predator or surgical procedure). This hypothesis was confirmed by studies showing that short-term stressors induce a large-scale redistribution of immune cells within the body, and significantly enhance immune function in organs (e.g. skin) to which immune cells traffic during stress. In contrast to adaptive short-term stressors, evolution has yet to catch up with chronic/long-term stress which is thought to exacerbate many diseases of mind and body. Therefore, we also investigate the harmful effects of chronic stress. Our pre-clinical and human subjects studies examining these bi-directional effects of stress involve models of surgery, immunization, and cancer. Our goal is to discover ways of manipulating the neuroendocrine and immune systems to optimally harness the body's natural defenses to confer maximum benefit for the patient.”
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