The department has a fundamental role in acquiring new knowledge to further our understanding of animal and human physiology and pathophysiology. To maximize our resources and foster collaborative interactions, we have established four research focus groups plus a strong emphasis on teaching. They are Cardiovascular and Pulmonary physiology, Immunophysiology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology. In most cases, faculty have research interests that fall under more than one group.

    Research programs in these groups investigate their respective topics through integrating studies at the isolated tissue or cellular level to whole organ or animal function. Programmatic strengths of these groups  include an actively shared system of well-equipped laboratories and excellent support personnel, mutually supportive technical and conceptual expertise, and interrelated but diverse extramural funding sources.