Alexander Bunk Email & Phone Number

I am a PhD candidate in the University of Cincinnati's Neuroscience Graduate Program. I currently work in the Davidson Lab in the Dept. of Anesthesiology. My dissertation research focuses on the contributions of skin-nerve interaction to pain and itch, with a focus on atopic dermatitis. In order to answer my research questions, I use both in vitro and in vivo models of inflammatory skin disease and have developed protocols for methods such as calcium imaging, patch-clamp electrophysiology, ELISA, qRT-PCR, immunostaining, and H&E staining. In addition to my dissertation work, I am involved in past and present projects in the lab related to the peripheral nervous system, including investigation into cannabinoid receptor CB1 expression and function in human DRG sensory neurons, transcriptomic and functional comparison of human iPSC-derived sensory neurons with native human DRG sensory neurons, and testing the efficacy of an experimental naloxone prodrug developed by the Merino lab in Chemistry. I also play a very active role in a number of collaborations. Central to these is our collaboration with the Supp and Schutte labs in the departments of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, respectively, to develop an all-human-cell 3-dimensional in vitro model of innervated human skin. When successful, this engineered skin will have immense utility, in both clinical and research applications. I also played an important role in a collaboration with the Hershey lab at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in which I designed and conducted experiments to characterize sensory neuron sensitivity in their mouse model of atopic dermatitis. Finally, I have been responsible for conducting experiments on a collaboration with the Tao lab at Rutgers which are designed to assess the effects of manipulating a long noncoding RNA on human DRG sensory neurons using in vitro models of chemotherapeutic and diabetic neuropathy.My research experience and education has prepared me for my long-term career interest in medical laboratory science. I look forward to a career in which I can apply my laboratory, problem solving skills, and project management experience to inform proper patient care.