Professor,
Dept. of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine
Dept. of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine
1120 15th Street, Rm. CA3016
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Augusta, GA 30912
Office phone: 706-721-5616
E-mail: lmccluskey@augusta.edu
BA - Florida State University, 1990
PhD - University of Virginia, 1996
Training:
Postdoc - Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School, 1996-2000
The taste system plays a critical role in food selection and nutrition. The McCluskey lab has a long-standing interest in the immune regulation of taste function in health and disease. Following nerve injury, taste recovers making this an excellent model system for understanding immune mechanisms that mediate nerve and target cell regeneration. Our recent work indicates that the IL-1 signaling pathway is critical for taste bud regeneration. Current efforts are aimed at determining when and where this and other cytokines are needed for recovery. We also use animal models of gut inflammation, such as enteral lipopolysaccharide and colitis, in order to understand taste changes that potentially food intake.
Cytokines in the regenerating taste system (R01 DC016668) , Taste changes in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease (MCG Research Incentive).
Lab members: Guankuo (Glenn) Dong, Schuyler Kogan, Julia Powell, MSP students: Natasha Venugopal, Eddy Chang