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Mark J Heulitt, MD
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Professor of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine |
501-364-1100 |
Research Overview
Dr. Mark J. Heulitt is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and section of critical care medicine. Dr. Heulitt's laboratory is a state-of-the-art whole animal applied respiratory physiology laboratory. Along with his laboratory staff of Tracy Thurman and Shirley Holt, RRT, over the past ten years, Dr. Heulitt has received international recognition for his evaluation of the physiology of work of breathing during positive pressure mechanical ventilation in infants and children. His laboratory has a unique animal model representing both infants and children that allows them to quantify the effects of changes in factors associated with the pre-trigger and trigger phase of mechanical ventilation. During this time, he has worked with industry producing mechanical ventilators to address the needs of infants and children in their design, especially as it relates to triggering and work of breathing.
Recently, Dr. Heulitt has worked with Dr. Stacie Jones of the Department of Pediatrics and Dr. Larry Cornett of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics to develop a technique to study respiratory mechanics in small animals. Using this technique, his laboratory staff has been able to study the impact on respiratory function and tissue expression of recombinant B2AR gene delivery to airway epithelia in a rat model of allergen sensitization. These studies represent the first steps in identifying a potential gene therapy for respiratory illnesses.
Key Publications
Heulitt MJ, Holt SJ, Thurman TL, Hall RA, Jo CH, Simpson P. Reliability of measured tidal volume in mechanically ventilated young pigs with normal lungs. Intensive Care Med. 2005; 31(9):1255-61.
*To find additional publications by this author, please visit Pubmed Central, a National Institutes of Health-operated site for electronic distribution of life sciences research reports.