Landscape image of high-altitude mountains.

ICEP Lab

Research Interests and Projects

  1. Mechanisms of cerebral blood flow regulation in healthy humans and in athletes with sport related brain injury.
  2. Influence of environmental stressors such as high altitude (i.e., hypoxia), carbon dioxide, thermal, and orthostatic stress on cerebrovascular function.
  3. Influence of exercise training on cerebrovascular function.

Research Equipment

Dr. Tymko’s ~1000 sq/ft laboratory space is outfitted with the following equipment to address research questions related to the above listed interests:

An image showcasing the environmental chamber. It's transparent, and takes on a look similar to a room as it features a bed and small table inside.

Environmental Chamber

Equipped with 5 hypoxia generators, this environmental chamber can simulate altitudes up to 5000 m. It is used to explore the effects of acute hypoxia exposure on exercise performance, blood flow regulation, and the control of breathing.

Lower Body Negative Pressure Chamber

This chamber is used to study the effects of limited venous return and heightened sympathetic nerve activity on cerebral blood flow regulation.

An image showing what the lower body negative pressure chamber looks like.
A front-facing image of a cerebrovascular ultrasound machine showcasing its startup screen.
A front-facing image of a cerebrovascular ultrasound machine showcasing its some sample data.

Cerebrovascular Ultrasound

Transcranial Doppler ultrasound machine to measure cerebral blood velocity within the cerebrovasculature.

Stationary Bicycles and Treadmill

State of the art exercise equipment used to determine VO2 max, and explore the impact of exercise on cerebral blood flow regulation.

An image showing the workstation for one of the stationary bicycles.
An image showing the workstation for one of the treadmills.
An image showing the cardiorespiratory monitoring station from the bed side.
An image showing the cardiorespiratory monitoring station from the computer side.

Cardiorespiratory Monitoring Station

Experimental testing suite outfitted with gas analyzers, blood pressure monitors, end-tidal forcing system, ADI powerlab, heart rate monitors, and spirometry. This testing area is used to measure cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory responses to various physiological stressors in humans.