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GALE L CRAVISO, Ph.D.
 Professor
Ph.D., NYU, 1982
Location: Howard 219; Savitt 45
Email: gcraviso medicine.nevada.edu
Tel: 775 784-4118
Fax: 775 784-1620
Research Interests
There are many different ways that basic research can contribute to meaningful and significant advances in therapeutic strategies and treatments. One is by exploring the feasibility of using electromagnetic fields to alter physiological processes safely and selectively. In a highly interdisciplinary collaborative project being carried out with Dr. Indira Chatterjee (Professor of Electrical Engineering) and other colleagues in the College of Engineering, we are presently studying the interaction of radiofrequency/microwave (RF/MW) radiation, that encompasses the frequency range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz, with neural type cells, specifically, adrenal medullary chromaffin cells that release the catecholamines norepinephrine and epinephrine. These cells are a well-established model of neurosecretory cells that have been used for understanding the mechanisms underlying exocytosis, the process by which neurotransmitter release occurs. By exposing chromaffin cells to RF/MW radiation in the 0.75 to 6 GHz frequency range ( For Video Click here ) ( For Caption Click here ) using a variety of different RF/MW exposure paradigms, we are determining the exposure conditions that can alter catecholamine release. Because we are looking for RF/MW effects that are non-thermal (that is, not due to heating), the mechanism by which RF/MW electromagnetic fields can couple to chromaffin cells to alter their neurosecretory function is a fundamental objective of the research. The research is driven by both experimental and modeling approaches.
Another process that we envision can be affected by RF/MW radiation is skeletal muscle contraction. For pursuing this latter we employ intact skeletal muscle strips and expose them to RF/MW fields. Future studies will also investigate RF/MW effects on single skeletal muscle fibers.
Recent studies in collaboration with researches at the University of Southern California are also exploring how high intensity electric pulses of nanosecond duration affect chromaffin cell function, as this type of pulsed power technology has the capability of being transitioned into a system where the electrical pulses can be delivered remotely.
From a medical standpoint, the research overall may lay the foundation for innovative electromagnetic and electric-based clinical applications for treating injuries and diseases of the nervous system and skeletal muscle noninvasively.
View the publications of Dr Craviso on PubMed
View the publications of Dr Craviso published in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
Featured Research
Featured on Remcom, Inc's website
Hagan, T., Chatterjee, I., McPherson, D. and Craviso, G.L. A novel radiofrequency-based
exposure system for studying non-thermal effects on catecholamine release from chromaffin cells: Finite-Difference Time-Domain modeling. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 32: 1668-1676
Featured in Xsite, The Newsletter of Remcom, Inc., Fall 2005.
Hagan, T., Chatterjee, I., McPherson, D. and Craviso, G.L. Simulation aids first on-line monitoring of RF effects on neuroendocrine cells.
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