BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

NAME: Serrador, Jorge M.

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login): jorgeserrador

POSITION TITLE: Associate Professor

EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and residency training if applicable. Add/delete rows as necessary.)

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION

DEGREE

Completion Date

FIELD OF STUDY

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

BS

04/1992

Physiology

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

BA

04/1993

Psychology

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

MS

04/1997

Kinesiology

The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

PhD

08/2000

Kinesiology

Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Postdoctoral Appointment

12/2002

Gerontology (Physiology)

A.        Personal Statement

My interest in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a direct result of my interest in integrative physiology and my personal experience with head concussions as a rugby player. I have focused my career on understanding how different physiological systems interact with each other and contribute to the development of pathological states. I was the first to clearly demonstrate that the vestibular (balance) system can directly affect cerebral blood flow.1 I've now extended that work into blast exposure and mTBI examining how damage to the vestibular system may also be affecting cerebral blood flow. I also believe that by using advanced signal processing techniqueswe can better understand complicated systems such as cerebral autoregulation.2 We are working towards using these new measures in clinical diagnoses and the development of new treatment paradigms for both vestibular loss and cerebral blood flow regulation problems. I believe that the combination of my integrative physiology approach along with advanced analytic techniques will allow us to greatly enhance our understanding of the effects of concussion and focus on new treatment paradigms. In addition, I have previously demonstrated that there are sex difference in cerebral blood flow regulation which needs to be considered in concussion research.3, 4 I also have completed severeal large studies (200-800 participants)3, 5 and am currently funded for a clinical trial with 256 participants.

1. Serrador J, Schlegel T, Black FO, Wood S. Vestibular effects on cerebral blood flow. BMC Neuroscience. 2009;10:119.
2. Serrador JM, Sorond FA, Vyas M, Gagnon M, Iloputaife ID, Lipsitz LA. Cerebral pressure-flow relations in hypertensive elderly humans: Transfer gain in different frequency domains. J Appl Physiol. 2005;98:151-159.
3.
Deegan BM, Sorond FA, Galica A, Lipsitz LA, O'Laighin G, Serrador JM. Elderly women regulate brain blood flow better than men do. Stroke. 2011;42:1988-1993.
4. Deegan BM, Devine ER, Geraghty MC, Jones E, Olaighin G, Serrador JM. The relationship between cardiac output and dynamic cerebral autoregulation in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2010;109:1424-1431.
5. Serrador JM, Lipsitz LA, Gopalakrishnan GS, Black FO, Wood SJ. Loss of otolith function with age is associated with increased postural sway measures. Neurosci Lett. 2009;465:10-15.

 

B.        Positions and Honors

Hospital Appointments

2000-2002 Research Fellow, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
2000-2003 Research Associate, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged, Roslindale, MA
2002-2004
Research Fellow, Gerontology Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA
2003-2008 Assistant Research Scientist, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged, Roslindale, MA
2004-2008 Primary Faculty, Gerontology Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
2008-2009 Clinical Research Investigator, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
2010-2010 Assistant Director of Research, War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Department of Veterans Affairs NJ Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ
2010-2012
Instructor, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
2010-2015 Associate Director of Research, War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Department of Veterans Affairs NJ Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ
2010-
Biological Scientist, Veterans Biomedical Research Institute, East Orange, NJ
2011-2014
Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

 

Academic Appointments

2002-2008 Instructor, Division of Aging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2008-2011 Instructor, Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2010-

Adjunct Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

2012-2014 Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2012- Associate Professor, Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Newark, NJ

 

Major Visiting Appointments

2008-2009 SFI Walton Visiting Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
2010-2011 William Evans Fellow, Department of Surgery and Anesthesia, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

 

Other Experience and Professional Memberships

1996- Member, American Physiological Society
1997-2004 Member, Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists
1998-2004 Member, American College Sports Medicine
2001-2003 Member, American Physiological Society- National Task Force on Trainees
2002- Member, International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism
2004-2007 Member, NIH T32 Training Grant, Division on Aging, Harvard Medical School
2006-2008 Member, The Gerontological Society of America
2009- Member, American Autonomic Society
2010- Member, Association for Research in Otolaryngology
2011- Member, Cerebral Autoregulation Network Society
2013- Member, Communications Committee, American Physiological Society
2013- Organizing Chairperson & Steering Committee Member, Cerebral Autoregulation Research Network

 

Honors

1992  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Research Award, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
1997-2000 University of Waterloo Ontario Special University Scholarship, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
1998-2000 Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council Post Graduate Scholarships, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
2000-2002 Schumann Cardiovascular Research Fellowship, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center For the Aged, Roslindale, MA
2001 American Physiological Society Travel Award, International Physiology Meeting, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
2000-2002 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
2004 2nd Runner Up, Space Medicine Branch Young Investigator Award, Aerospace Medical Association
2009 Top 50 Most Cited Articles, Stroke (Journal)
2009 Top 10 Most Accessed Articles, BMC Neuroscience (Journal)

C.        Contribution to Science

Cerebral Blood Flow Regulation

For the last 20 years I have been interested in cerebral blood flow regulation. Maintaining proper cerebral blood flow is essential for not only life, but proper cognitive function. Cerebral blood flow regulation involves several regulatory systems. 1) Cerebral autoregulation which responds to pressure changes; 2) Autonomic controls of cerebral circulation which remains controversial; 3) Endothelial mediated dilation of the cerebral vessels; and 4) neurovascular coupling in the cerebral circulation. I have previously validated the use of transcranial Doppler (TCD) to measure cerebral blood flow,1 work that has been cited over 500 times. My lab focuses on contributing both to the basic understanding of the physiology of the cerebral circulation in humans as well as the pathophysiology of many conditions. I have previously demonstrated that cerebral blood flow decreases prior to syncope, even though cerebral autoregulation remains intact.2 That cerebral autoregulation is unaffected by aging3 and may actually be improved in hypertension.4 I have also found that autoregulation is impaired in subarachnoid hemorrhage and this impairment may occur prior to the development of vasospasm.5 I continue to apply my integrative approach to new areas including concussion/mTBI

1. Serrador JM, Picot PA, Rutt BK, Shoemaker JK, Bondar RL. Mri measures of middle cerebral artery diameter in conscious humans during simulated orthostasis. Stroke. 2000;31:1672-1678.
2. Serrador JM, Shoemaker JK, Brown TE, Kassam MS, Bondar RL, Schlegel TT. Cerebral vasoconstriction precedes orthostatic intolerance after parabolic flight. Brain Res Bull. 2000;53:113-120.
3.  Deegan BM, Sorond FA, Galica A, Lipsitz LA, O'Laighin G, Serrador JM. Elderly women regulate brain blood flow better than men do. Stroke. 2011;42:1988-1993.
4. Serrador JM, Sorond FA, Vyas M, Gagnon M, Iloputaife ID, Lipsitz LA. Cerebral pressure-flow relations in hypertensive elderly humans: Transfer gain in different frequency domains. J Appl Physiol. 2005;98:151-159.
5.     Nakagawa K, Serrador JM, LaRose SL, Sorond FA. Dynamic cerebral autoregulation after intracerebral hemorrhage: A case-control study. BMC Neurol. 2011;11:108.

Vestibular – Autonomic Interactions

Humans have evolved to spend the majority of their waking hours in the upright posture. Since this means the brain is now above the heart, the generator of blood pressure, human brains must adapt to a lower perfusion pressure because of gravity. Thus every time we move from the supine to upright posture, our cerebral blood vessels must dilate to deal with the lower pressure. The vestibular system tells up about our position in space and relative to gravity. This has made me keenly interested in how changes in vestibular function could affect the maintenance of cerebral blood flow when upright. I have demonstrated that stimulating the vestibular system causes changes in cerebral blood flow.1 Thus, loss of vestibular function, common in many conditions including head trauma, aging,2 etc, could result in reduced brain blood flow when upright, possibly explaining some of the cognitive impairment we see in these groups. Recently we have been working to improve vestibular function using a stochastic resonance stimulator to not only treat balance dysfunction3 but eventually as a possible way to improve cerebral blood flow. Beyond the vestibular system we have been able to improve sensory function using the same stimulator.4

1. Serrador J, Schlegel T, Black FO, Wood S. Vestibular effects on cerebral blood flow. BMC Neuroscience. 2009;10:119.
2. Serrador JM, Lipsitz LA, Gopalakrishnan GS, Black FO, Wood SJ. Loss of otolith function with age is associated with increased postural sway measures. Neurosci Lett. 2009;465:10-15.
3.  Mulavara AP, Fiedler MJ, Kofman IS, Wood SJ, Serrador JM, Peters B, Cohen HS, Reschke MF, Bloomberg JJ. Improving balance function using vestibular stochastic resonance: Optimizing stimulus characteristics. Exp Brain Res. 2011;210:303-312.
4. Breen PP, G OL, McIntosh C, Dinneen SF, Quinlan LR, Serrador JM. A new paradigm of electrical stimulation to enhance sensory neural function. Medical engineering & physics. 2014;36:1088-1091.

Sex Differences in Human Physiology

An important consideration in integrative human physiology that has been understudied is sex differences. I am very interested in understanding sex differences in cerebral blood flow regulation. I have already found that cerebral autoregulation is better in both young1 and elderly women2 than age matched men. I believe understanding these sex differences could help us to understand some of the differences in prevalence of conditions such as stroke, headache, etc. I have also previously found that women show greater declines in otolith function with age than men.3 This could have a negative impact on their cerebral blood flow based on our findings of a vestibular-autonomic connection. These findings highlight the importance of considering sex in physiological research and the importance of integrative physiology that considers multiple systems.  We are currently expanding to also consider race as another factor.

1. Deegan BM, Devine ER, Geraghty MC, Jones E, Olaighin G, Serrador JM. The relationship between cardiac output and dynamic cerebral autoregulation in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2010;109:1424-1431.
2. Deegan BM, Sorond FA, Galica A, Lipsitz LA, O'Laighin G, Serrador JM. Elderly women regulate brain blood flow better than men do. Stroke. 2011;42:1988-1993.
3.  Serrador JM, Lipsitz LA, Gopalakrishnan GS, Black FO, Wood SJ. Loss of otolith function with age is associated with increased postural sway measures. Neurosci Lett. 2009;465:10-15.

Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/14g-ia1p61KQI/bibliography/47920718/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending

 

D.        Research Support

Ongoing Research Support

W81XWH-14-GWIRP-IIRA  Serrador (PI) 07/16-06/19
Improving cognitive function in veterans with Gulf War Illness by improving cerebral vascular function
Specific Aims: Aim 1: Explain the cognitive impairment Veterans with GWI experience through the reduced capacity of the cerebrovasculature to dilate. Aim 2: Determine if low cerebrovascular reactivity can be restored by blocking COX improving cognitive function.
Role: PI  

 

1I01CX001329-01    Cook/Falvo (M-PI) 01/16-12/19
Post Exertion Malaise in GWI: Brain Autonomic and Behavioral Interactions
Specific Aims: The proposed research studies will determine whether interactions among central nervous, autonomic, and immune systems explain symptoms at baseline and the worsening of symptoms that occur following exercise challenge (i.e., post-exertion malaise).
Role: Co-I 

 

W81XWH-14-GWIRP-IIREA Oaklander (PI) 09/15-09/18
Diagnosis of Late-stage, Early-onset, Small-fiber Polyneuropathy
Specific Aims: Aim 1: Improving diagnosis: Develop and validate simpler SFPN tests for general use with Gulf War veterans. Aim 2: Developing genetic tests: Develop and validate sequencing based tests for polymorphisms in SFPN-associated genes for use in GW veterans and civilians with L/E/SFPN.
Role: Partnering PI

 

W81XWH-14-CRMRP-NSRRA Schubert (PI) 09/15-09/18
SARA - Sensorimotor Assessment and Rehabilitation Apparatus
Specific Aims: Aim 1: Correlate behavioral measure of ocular misalignment from otolith damage against gold standard measures of otolith function in an mTBI, vestibular deficit. Aim 2: Investigate difference in dynamic visual acuity to distinguish vestibular oculomotor from visual oculomotor control dysfunction. Aim 3: Predict who with vestibular hypofunction will respond well to vestibular rehabilitation intervention.
Role: Subrecipient PI  

 

W81XWH-14-1-0598 Serrador (PI) 09/14-09/16
Use of a portable stimulator to treat Gulf War Illness
Specific Aims: Aim 1: Determine the level of vestibular dysfunction in a group of Veterans with Gulf War Illness. Aim 2: Determine the effectiveness of subsensory electrical stimulation in a population of Veterans with vestibular dysfunction to improve balance function.
Role: PI  

 

W81XWH-14-2-0012 Serrador (PI) 04/14-03/18
Treatment of vestibular dysfunction using a portable stimulator
The major goal of this award is to determine if the use of stochastic noise electrical stimulation can improve vestibular function in those with vestibular loss. In addition, we will develop a portable stimulator that can be used as a new restorative device.
Role: PI  

 

Completed Research Support

GW100095 Consortium Development Award Serrador (PI) 07/11-06/12
Integrative physiology of Gulf War Illness: Role of autonomic function, central neural processing, and sleep
The major goal of this award is to develop a consortium proposal involving 17 investigators and 7 institutions to examine the pathophysiology of Gulf War Illness.
Role: PI  

 

R21DC009900 Serrador (PI) 09/09-08/12
Role of cerebral blood flow in nausea and motion sickness
The major goal of this award is to determine the role of changes in cerebral blood flow in the development of nausea and motion sickness to determine if cerebral blood flow changes could be used as an objective indicator of motion sickness.
Role:PI

 

1I21RX001079-01 Falvo (PI) 07/13-06/15
Effects of deployment exposures on cardiopulmonary and autonomic function
The major goal of this award is to determine whether deployment-related exposures have affected cardiorespiratory and nervous system function.
Role: Co-Investigator