Overview

Under the leadership of principal investigator Michael J. Joyner, M.D., the Human and Integrative Physiology and Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory focuses its research studies on fundamental physiological responses related to oxygen transport, cardiovascular control and exercise. During the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019, our lab pivoted and now also works on issues related to convalescent plasma and passive immunity.

We also use state-of-the art integrative physiological and pharmacological techniques to study human adaptation and disease. Our lab is committed to understanding how the whole human responds to complex challenges, such as hypoxia, exercise, heating, standing and mental stress.

Specific areas of research in our lab include:

• The role of hemoglobin in oxygen transport.
• Blood flow to exercising muscles.
• Skin blood flow responses to heating.
• Physiological responses to orthostatic stress and blood loss.
• The autonomic nervous system and its receptors.
• Pharmacological agents relevant to anesthesia.
• Convalescent plasma and pandemic preparedness.

Since our lab was founded in 1993, it has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), among other organizations.

About Dr. Joyner

Dr. Joyner, an anesthesiologist, is the Frank R. and Shari Caywood Professor at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In addition to the research his lab conducts, Dr. Joyner also is interested in the limits of scientific reductionism and the dehyping of biomedical communications. He has published thought-provoking and critical essays on the precision medicine narrative in the popular press and key scientific journals. He repurposed his vision and skill set to lead the US Convalescent Plasma Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about Dr. Joyner.