Serotonin. The Mediator that Spans Evolution

Authors

Paul M. Pilowsky Professor of Physiology, University of Sydney, Australia. Paul M Pilowsky began BMedSci(Hons), BMBS, PhD his career as a graduate student investigating, inter alia, the role of brainstem and spinal cord pathways in the control of blood pressure with a focus on serotonin. His work has now been cited more than 5000 times and published in major Journals including the Journal of Neuroscience, the Journal of Comparative Neurology and the British Journal of Pharmacology. A hallmark of his work has been the adoption of, and combination of, novel approaches to address difficult questions. He pioneered the use of combining single cell electrophysiology in vivo with immunohistochemistry. His development of isotype selective monoclonal antibodies to phosphorylated tyrosine hydroxylase enabled the detection of tyrosine hydroxylase positive presympathetic neurons in the brainstem that had become excited. He was responsible for the initial development of a new medical school at Macquarie University in Sydney. His service to Neuroscience was recognised by the award of the Australian Neuroscience Medal. He mentored 26 graduate students to on-time completion, and mentored 24 post-Doctoral Fellows, many of whom now have their own established careers. In imagining this book, it was felt that a departure from the usual highly focussed text would be of interest. Hence, a multi-Author volume has been created that reveals the multiple facets of a neurotransmitter with very broad actions.