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TRENTU.CA / Biology / Faculty & Research / Faculty / Kirk Hillsley

Kirk Hillsley

Assistant Professor

Kirk Hillsley in black and white, wearing glasses and a checkered shirt smiling at the camera.

  • B.Sc. (Sheffield University, UK)
  • Ph.D. (Sheffield University, UK)

Office: LHS D221

Phone: 705-748-1011 ext. 6346

Email: kirkhillsley@trentu.ca

Research interests

  • Effects of stress and infection on the Microbiota - Gut - Brain axis
  • Peripheral-CNS interactions
  • Neurophysiology

My research focuses on how nerve cell function is modulated, be it by psychological stress, immunological stress, or by physiological and pharmacological manipulation.  I am generally interested in the interplay between peripheral sensory nerves, the microbiome, the immune system, and the central nervous system, and how these different cell types communicate and modulate each other’s activity.

Teaching

BIOL 1030: Foundations in Cellular and Molecular Biology

BIOL 2050: Introduction to Genetics

BIOL 3250: Microbiology

BIOL 3640: Epidemiology

BIOL 4370: Advanced Microbiology

BIOL 4630: Epigenetics

Selected publications

Aerssens J, Hillsley K, Peeters PJ, de Hoogt R, Stanisz A, Lin J, Van den Wyngaert I, Gohlmann HW, Grundy D, Stead RH, Coulie, B. Alterations in the brain-gut axis underlying visceral chemosensitivity in Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infected mice. Gastroenterology 2007 Apr;132(4):1375-87.

Hillsley K, McCaul C, Aerssens J, Peeters PJ, Gijsen H, Moechars D, Coulie B, Grundy D, Stead RH.  Activation of the cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptor inhibits murine mesenteric afferent nerve activity.  Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2007 Sep;19(9):769-77.

Hillsley K, Lin J, Stanisz A, Grundy D, Aerssens J, Peeters PJ, Moechars D, Coulie B, Stead RH.  Dissecting the role of sodium currents in visceral sensory neurons in a model of chronic hyperexcitability using Nav1.8 and Nav1.9 knockout mice.  J Physiol. 2006 Aug

Stead RH, Colley EC, Wang B, Partosoedarso E, Lin J, Stanisz A,
Hillsley K. Vagal influences over mast cells. Auton Neurosci. 2006 Apr 30; 125(1-2): 53-61

Peeters PJ, Aerssens J, de Hoogt R, Stanisz A, Göhlmann HW, Hillsley K, Meulemans A, Grundy D, Stead RH, Coulie B.  Molecular profiling of murine sensory neurons in the nodose and dorsal root ganglia labeled from the peritoneal cavity.  Physiol Genomics. 2006 Feb 14; 24(3): 252-63

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