Neurobiology expert, Wright State alumnus Alfredo Garcia to hold campus seminar Nov. 5

Alfredo Garcia earned his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Wright State.

“Breathing to Learn and Learning to Breathe” will be the topic of a seminar presented by Wright State University alumnus and neurobiology expert Alfredo Garcia, Ph.D.

The seminar will be held Friday, Nov. 5, from 2 to 3 p.m. in 101 Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building.

The topic of Garcia’s presentation is “Breathing to Learn and Learning to Breathe: Understanding the Neurophysiological Consequences of Intermittent Hypoxia and Beyond.”

Research by Garcia, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, focuses on understanding how local brain circuit physiology is impacted by changes in blood gas homeostasis, which is vital for maintaining the oxygenation of living tissues.

The research has implications for understanding the neural basis for autonomic function and cognitive dysfunction in conditions ranging from opioid overdose to epilepsy and sleep apnea.

Garcia has also written widely on hypoxia, the absence of enough oxygen in the tissues to sustain bodily functions.

The seminar is hosted by the Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology and Physiology in Wright State’s College of Science and Mathematics and Boonshoft School of Medicine.

“Dr. Garcia has worked with some of the best researchers in the world on the control of breathing and has established himself as a clear-thinking independent scientist,” said Christopher Wyatt, Ph.D., associate professor and the associate chair for education in the Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology and Physiology. “I’m really looking forward to his presentation.”

Garcia earned his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Wright State University and his bachelor’s degree in biology from The Ohio State University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience at the University of Chicago.

For more information, contact Juliusz Ashot Kozak at juliusz.kozak@wright.edu.