Contributed/ETSU
In the busy construction sites of South Korea and the mountain bike trails of the American West, Dr. Matthew Zahner learned that the most direct path is rarely the most interesting one. Dr. Zahner, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Health Sciences at ETSU, did not start his career in a white lab coat. Instead, he joined the Air Force after high school, spending his early twenties laying concrete blocks and racing mountain bikes professionally. It was only after finding himself at a literal dead end in Cape May, New Jersey, during a long drive, that he realized he was ready for a different kind of challenge.
Now, Dr. Zahner acts as a master electrician for the human body, specifically focusing on the autonomic nervous system. This system is like the autopilot on a plane; it controls everything from your heart rate to your blood pressure without you ever having to think about it. However, when a person suffers a spinal cord injury, this autopilot can experience a dangerous short circuit.
One of the biggest hurdles for these patients is a condition called autonomic dysreflexia. Dr. Zahner explains it as a relatable metaphor: imagine being stuck in heavy traffic while desperately needing a bathroom. “After a few minutes, it goes from ‘this is bad’ to ‘oh, this really is going to be a problem,’” Dr. Zahner says.
For someone with a spinal cord injury, a simple full bladder can trigger a massive spike in blood pressure because the body cannot send the signal to “brake” correctly. His lab uses chemogenetics, a method using designed receptors and specific medicine to jump-start neural connections and help the body regulate itself again.
Dr. Zahner is also investigating how chronic stress and PTSD impact the heart. For veterans returning from conflict, the body’s fight or flight response is often stuck in the “on” position. This constant tension acts like revving a car engine at a red light for years, which wears down the heart. In a surprising breakthrough, his team discovered a potential hidden brake pedal in the brain called the locus coeruleus. Just recently, the team has began to investigate the surprising hidden potential of targeting the specific stimulation of specific neurons that that were associated with the increase in blood pressure elicited by stress. Recently they have found that certain stimulation of these neurons can actually reduce dangerous blood pressure responses associated with stress.
Beyond the technical data, Dr. Zahner’s laboratory uses microinjections of viruses to manipulate the genetics of specific neurons, essentially rewriting the “code” of the nervous system to promote healing. Whether they are investigating sleep apnea or the “implications of sleep apnea and cardiovascular risk after myocardial ischemia,” the goal is always to improve the metabolic and cardiovascular health of the community.
Despite his high-level research and multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Zahner remains focused on the students who power his laboratory. He serves as the Research Strategy Lead for the team, working closely with research strategy lead, Sally Chikomb, whom he describes as “the engine in the lab” who keeps everything organized, and a team of lab technicians.
For Dr. Zahner, the journey from laying bricks to mapping brain circuits proves that success does not come from just following the status quo.
“If you do everything that’s expected to you perfectly, that makes you perfectly average,” Dr. Zahner says. “You have to make the opportunity for yourself.”
By bringing a builder’s grit to the world of neuroscience, Dr. Zahner is ensuring that the research happening at ETSU provides a large community impact for families and veterans across the Appalachian region. In the end, he proves that with the right nudge, even the most tangled biological circuits can find their way back to a healthy state.
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