Human Physiology
Welcome to the website of the Discipline of Human Physiology.
Teaching activities in Human Physiology
The Discipline contributes to the educational offerings of all seven undergraduate degree programs in the Faculty, as well as hosting postgraduate studies in the physiological sciences.
The Discipline also has educational responsibilities within degree programs offered by the Faculty of Education and Arts (Speech Pathology and Health & Physical Education), and the Faculty of Nursing (on the Callaghan, Ourimbah and Port Macquarie Campuses).
The Discipline plays a major role in examining and in educational development in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and in the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. It is a major participant in the integrated BMed program of the Faculty, and is intimately involved in the development of the B Biomed Sci degree. It has strong research links with the Disciplines of Surgical Sciences (Anaesthesia and Intensive Care), and Cardiovascular Medicine, and with the Neuroscience Group within the Faculty of Health. The Discipline was instrumental in founding and chairing the Hunter Academy of Sport, a Company Limited by Guarantee, and the first independent academy of sport in Australia. The Discipline maintains close links with the Hunter Sports community.
Innovative teaching methods
The Discipline has always had a strong involvement in the development and delivery of the Bachelor of Medicine course at the University of Newcastle. The Faculty has gained world-wide recognition as pioneering a truly innovative and effective way of educating medical students. The curriculum is based on a problem-based learning model. Students work in small tutorial groups to analyse and solve clinical problems from which they gain knowledge and understanding of the scientific bases of medicine and clinical practice. Their learning in human physiology is integrated with that of other clinical and basic science disciplines and is reinforced by parallel studies in critical reasoning and professional skills.
The philosophy and techniques of Problem Based Learning in Human Physiology are being applied also in the still evolving curriculum of the B.Biomedical Science degree program.
The Discipline is at the forefront of development of computer assisted learning (CAL) modules for students in the Health Sciences.
Research
There is a strong research base in the discipline: current projects cover the range from cellular and electrophysiology studies in preparations maintained in tissue culture to whole animal and human studies. We share with other members of the Neuroscience Group a well equipped cell culture facility and have ready access in the Medical Sciences Building to the full range of standard physiological and biochemical equipment, including confocal and electron microscopes and centrifuges. The building is equipped also with two walk-in cold laboratories , a radiochemical experimentation suite with beta-counters and a protein sequencing facility that operates a commercial service. There is also an animal house and operating suite.
Some research undertaken by Human Physiology includes:
- Control systems physiology of the cardiorespiratory systems, with special interest in control of bronchial and coronary circulations, and in exercise
- Cardiovascular regulation in man during physiological strain including effects of gravity and of exercise; neurography of sympathetic outflow
- Cervical sensory systems in the control of autonomic activity, and of movement and posture
- Reflex regulation of regional coronary blood flow; developmental aspects of cardiorespiratory baroreflex control in man and pig
- Molecular mechanisms underlying neurotransmitter release, and role of calcium in neurotransmitter release and its regulation
- Cellular calcium homeostasis in neural tissues
- Molecular mechanisms regulating rhythmicity and sympathetic nerve function in smooth muscle including small arteries, veins, lymph vessels and the gastrointestinal system
- Development of interactive computer-based learning and assessment
- Structure-function studies of ligand-gated ion channels
- Studies of plasticity in the sensory representations of the adult brain
