Spring and Summer 2022 Research

On going projects:

Stokes Lab research students Alicia Peters and Mila Fisher are investigating the effects of e-cigarette vapor exposure on lung function and lung tissue health. Studies include both adult and adolescent rats and acute (1-day) and chronic (2-week) vape exposure.

Mila Fisher is also assessing the role of hormones in ventilation in female rats. This is a collaborative study with students in Dr. Fay Guarraci's lab.

Also in collaboration with Dr. Fay Guarraci's lab, SU students are testing the effects of vaping on sexual maturity and sexual function in male and female rats.

“I am very excited to participate in the research we are doing this summer! In our first study, we are researching the effect of female rats’ estrous cycles on their breathing patterns. This study is very exciting because we can include female rats in our vape studies and collect accurate data on their breathing patterns after vaping. We are also continuing our vaping study on adult rats, which can help explore the effects of vaping after physical maturity. I believe that this research is very important, and can help to expand the knowledge available on the effects of vaping.”

-Mila Fisher

Rat ventilation recording using whole body plethysmography.

Summer 2021 Research

In 2021 and 2022, student research from the Stokes Lab was presented locally at the SU Summer Research Open House and at the SU Research and Creative Works Symposium, regionally at the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference, and nationally at Experimental Biology 2022 (Philadelphia, PA) and Neuroscience 2022 (San Diego, CA).

Is short-term e-cigarette use harmless?

Stokes Lab research student Alicia Peters is investigating the effects of e-cigarette vapor exposure on lung function and lung tissue health.

In this acute (short-term) exposure study rat ventilation (breathing) patterns are recorded and analyzed both before and after 7-days of e-cigarette vapor exposure (10 minutes per day). At the end of the study lung tissue will be tested for signs of inflammation and damage.

Check out Alicia's poster from the SU Summer Research Open House!

“One of the things I have loved about this research is learning how to work with animals in a study. The unpredictability of animals can make studies like ours challenging, but the skills you come out with is something you won’t get anywhere else. I’m also proud of the work we’re doing, as vaping is still so new to our generation, and the major health impacts are still uncertain. While current research indicates that vaping may harm a person’s immune response within the lungs, we hope to learn more about how this happens through our research.”

-Alicia Peters

Summer 2019 Research Projects

(click on a poster to see the full PDF file)

Jada Faul

Microglia Activation and IL-1β Expression in Select Ventilatory Control Regions Following Exposure to Chronic Sustained Hypoxia

Conference Presentation:
Experimental Biology 2020
April 4-7; San Diego, CA

Kyle Barron and Jada Faul

Microglia and Astrocyte Activation in Select Ventilatory Control Regions Following Exposure to Chronic Sustained Hypoxia

Conference Presentations:

LSU Scholars Forum - 2/2019

Centenary Research Conference - 4/2019

Summer 2018 Research Projects