Team

Supervisor

Matthew Pamenter, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology

Matt received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (2003-2008), where he studied neural mechanisms of anoxia-tolerance in turtle brain in the Buck lab. He then travelled to California to undertake a postdoctoral fellowship in the Haddad lab at UCSD (2008-2012), where he studied mechanisms of ischemic cell death in mammalian stroke models. In 2012, Matt began a second postdoctoral fellowship, split between the Powell lab at UCSD and the Milsom lab at UBC (2012-2015), studying neural plasticity in the hypoxic ventilatory response of rodents, including the naked mole rat.

Matt is broadly interested in how hypoxia-tolerant animals have evolved to survive in low-oxygen environments. His primary focus is on the underlying neural mechanisms of hypoxia-tolerance, with a specific interest in how brain cells survive with little to no oxygen and how neural networks control physiological responses to hypoxia.

Lab Members

Mo Ojaghi

Ph.D. Student (2019- )

Liam Eaton

Ph.D. Student (2018- )

Publications: Eaton L, Welch I, Halal AK, Bengtsson J and Pamenter ME (2023). Apocynin reduces dihydroethidium fluorescence in naked mole-rat cortex independently of NADPH oxidase. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Eaton L, Wang T, Roy M, and Pamenter ME (2022). Naked mole-rat cortex maintains reactive oxygen species homeostasis during in vitro hypoxia or ischemia and reperfusion. Current Neuropharmacology.

Eaton L and Pamenter ME (2022). Is NADPH critical to maintain redox homeostasis in hypoxia-tolerant naked mole-rat brain? Reactive Oxygen Species.

Hadj-Moussa H, Eaton L, Cheng H, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2022). Naked mole-rats resist the accumulation of hypoxia-induced oxidative damage. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A..

Eaton L and Pamenter ME (2022). What to do with low O2: redox adaptations in vertebrates native to hypoxic environments. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

D’Alessio S, Cheng H, Eaton L, Kraev I, Pamenter ME and Lange S (2022). Acute hypoxia alters extracellular vesicle signatures and the brain citrusllinome of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Ingelson-Filpula WA, Cheng H, Eaton L, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2022). Small RNA sequencing in hypoxic naked mole-rat hearts suggests microRNA regulation of RNA- and translation-related processes. FEBS Letters.

Hadj-Moussa H, Chiasson S, Cheng H, Eaton L, Storey KB and Pamenter ME (2021). MicroRNA-mediated inhibition of AMPK coordinates tissue-specific downregulation of skeletal muscle metabolism in hypoxic naked mole-rats. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Wang TH, Eaton L, and Pamenter ME (2020). Nitric oxide homeostasis is maintained during acute in vitro hypoxia and following reoxygenation in naked mole-rat but not mouse cortical neurons. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Karen Kadamani

Honours B.Sc. Student (2019-2020); Ph.D. Student (2020- )

Nathalie Marks de Chabris

B.Sc. Student 

Publications: Marks de Chabris NC, Sabir S, Perkins G, Cheng H, Ellisman MH and Pamenter ME (2023). Acute hypoxia does not alter mitochondrial abundance in naked mole-rats. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Bogdan Tirca

B.Sc. Student 

Michael Qi

B.Sc. Student 

Abdul Karim Halal

B.Sc. Student

Publications: Eaton L, Welch I, Halal AK, Bengtsson J and Pamenter ME (2023). Apocynin reduces dihydroethidium fluorescence in naked mole-rat cortex independently of NADPH oxidase. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

John Bengtsson

B.Sc. Student

Publications: Eaton L, Welch I, Halal AK, Bengtsson J and Pamenter ME (2023). Apocynin reduces dihydroethidium fluorescence in naked mole-rat cortex independently of NADPH oxidase. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Lab Alumni

Hang Cheng

Ph.D. Student (2018-2023 )

Publications: Marks de Chabris NC, Sabir S, Perkins G, Cheng H, Ellisman MH and Pamenter ME (2023). Acute hypoxia does not alter mitochondrial abundance in naked mole-rats. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Cheng H, Qin Y, Dhillon R, Dowell J, Denu JM and Pamenter ME (2022). Metabolomic analysis of carbohydrate and amino acid changes induced by hypoxia in naked mole-rat brain and liver. Metabolites.

Ingelson-Filpula WA, Cheng H, Eaton L, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2022). Small RNA sequencing in hypoxic naked mole-rat hearts suggests microRNA regulation of RNA- and translation-related processes. FEBS Letters.

Hadj-Moussa H, Eaton L, Cheng H, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2022). Naked mole-rats resist the accumulation of hypoxia-induced oxidative damage. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

D’Alessio S, Cheng H, Eaton L, Kraev I, Pamenter ME and Lange S (2022). Acute hypoxia alters extracellular vesicle signatures and the brain citrusllinome of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Huynh K, Sabir S, Cheng H and Pamenter ME (2022). Acute pH alterations do not impact cardiac mitochondrial respiration in naked mole-rats or mice. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Thoral E, Farhat E, Roussel D, Cheng H, Guillard L, Pamenter ME, Weber J-M and Teulier L (2022). Different patterns of chronic hypoxia lead to hierarchical adaptative mechanisms in goldfish metabolism. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Cheng H and Pamenter (2022). Supermole-rat to the rescue: does the naked mole-rat offer a panacea for all that ails us? Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Cheng H, Sebaa R, Malholtra N, Lacoste B, El Hankouri Z, Kirby A, Bennett NC, van Jaarseld B, Hart DW, Tattersall GJ, Harper ME and Pamenter ME (2021). Naked mole-rat brown fat thermogenesis is diminished during hypoxia through a rapid decrease in UCP1. Nature Communications.

Cheng H and Pamenter ME (2021). Naked mole-rat brain mitochondria tolerate in vitro ischemia. Journal of Physiology.

Cheng H, Munro D, Huynh K and Pamenter ME (2021). Naked mole-rat skeletal muscle mitochondria exhibit minimal functional plasticity in acute or chronic hypoxia. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B.

Hadj-Moussa H, Chiasson S, Cheng H, Eaton L, Storey KB and Pamenter ME (2021). MicroRNA-mediated inhibition of AMPK coordinates tissue-specific downregulation of skeletal muscle metabolism in hypoxic naked mole-rats. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Farhat E, Devereaux MEM, Cheng H, Weber J-M and Pamenter ME (2021). Na+/K+-ATPase activity is regionally regulated by acute hypoxia in naked mole-rat brain. Neuroscience Letters.

Farhat E, Cheng H, Romestaing C, Pamenter M, and Weber JM (2021). Goldfish response to chronic hypoxia: Mitochondrial respiration, fuel preference and energy metabolism. Metabolites. 11(3):187.

Cheng H, Munro D and Pamenter ME (2021). Dynamic calculation of ATP/O ratios measured using Magnesium Green (MgGr)™. MethodsX.

Sidney Abar

Honours B.Sc. Student (2021-2022)

Isabella Welch

Honours B.Sc. Student

Publications: Eaton L, Welch I, Halal AK, Bengtsson J and Pamenter ME (2023). Apocynin reduces dihydroethidium fluorescence in naked mole-rat cortex independently of NADPH oxidase. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Jaina Patel

B.Sc. Student 

Bivaz Jaffer

Honours B.Sc. Student (2021-2022)

Soulene Sabir

UROP awardee (2021-2022)

Publications: Marks de Chabris NC, Sabir S, Perkins G, Cheng H, Ellisman MH and Pamenter ME (2023). Acute hypoxia does not alter mitochondrial abundance in naked mole-rats. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Huynh K, Sabir S, Cheng H and Pamenter ME (2022). Acute pH alterations do not impact cardiac mitochondrial respiration in naked mole-rats or mice. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Katia Hughes

NSERC USRA awardee (2021)

Kenny Huynh

UROP awardee; NSERC USRA awardee; Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2021)

Publications: Huynh K, Sabir S, Cheng H and Pamenter ME (2022). Acute pH alterations do not impact cardiac mitochondrial respiration in naked mole-rats or mice. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Huynh K and Pamenter ME (2022). Lactate inhibits naked mole-rat cardiac mitochondrial respiration. Journal of Comparative Physiology B.

Pamenter ME, Usyal-Onganer P, Huynh K, Kraev I, and Lange S (2021). Post-translational deimination of immunological and metabolic protein markers in plasma and extracellular vesicles of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). International Journal of Molecular Science

Cheng H, Munro D, Huynh K and Pamenter ME (2021). Naked mole-rat skeletal muscle mitochondria exhibit minimal functional plasticity in acute or chronic hypoxia. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B.

Kate Brennan

Honours B.Sc. Student (2020-2021)

Maria Roy

Honours B.Sc. Student (2019-2020) 

Publications: Eaton L, Wang T, Roy M, and Pamenter ME (2022). Naked mole-rat cortex maintains reactive oxygen species homeostasis during in vitro hypoxia or ischemia and reperfusion. Current Neuropharmacology.

Dan in nature

Samantha Torne

Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2019) 

Tina Wang

Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2019)

Project title: Naked mole-rat neurons control reactive nitrogen species production during reperfusion following hypoxia or ischemia.

Publications: Eaton L, Wang T, Roy M, and Pamenter ME (2022). Naked mole-rat cortex maintains reactive oxygen species homeostasis during in vitro hypoxia or ischemia and reperfusion. Current Neuropharmacology.

Wang TH, Eaton L, and Pamenter ME (2020). Nitric oxide homeostasis is maintained during acute in vitro hypoxia and following reoxygenation in naked mole-rat but not mouse cortical neurons. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Salome Cadrin-Aubin

Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2019)

Project title: Vascular adaptations in muscle to exercise / work in hypoxia in 6 species
of African mole rats.

Lisa Borecky

Lisa Borecky

M.Sc. Student (2015-2018)

Project title: Hypoxia inducible factor and the control of hypoxic ventilatory and metabolic responses in Mus Musculus and heterocephalus glaber.

Publications: Dzal, Seow, Borecky, Chung, Gill, Milsom and Pamenter (2019). Glutamatergic receptors modulate normoxic but not hypoxic ventilation and metabolism in naked mole rats. Frontiers in Physiology

Borecky LG and Pamenter ME (2017). Oxygen sensing and transcriptional regulation of adaptive hypoxic responses. In: Chemosensory sensors and systems: evolutionary significance biological effects, and new insights. New York, USA: Nova Science (M. Brandt, ed.).

photo pour labo

Cécile Baldy, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow (2017-2018)

Publications: Munro D, Baldy C, Pamenter ME, and Treberg JR (2019). The exceptional longevity of the naked mole-rat may be explained by exceptional mitochondrial antioxidant defenses. Aging Cell

Pamenter ME and Baldy C. (2017). Chronic intermittent hypoxia contributes to sleep-disordered breathing in infants and adults. Berlin, GER: Avid Science. (S. Ravini, ed.).

Amanda Zhu-Pawlowsky

B.Sc. Student (Summer 2018)

Project title: Exploring the role of a moisture-mediated body temperature cooling strategy in hypoxic naked mole rats

Publications: Vandewint A, Zhu-Palowsky A, Kirby A, Tattersall GJ and Pamenter ME. (2019). Evaporative cooling and vasodilation mediate thermoregulation in naked mole rats during normoxia but not hypoxia. Journal of Thermal Biology.

Sarah Zhang

NSERC USRA awardee; Honours B.Sc. Student (2017-2018)

Project title: Hypercapnic ventilatory and metabolic responses in the fossorial Damaraland mole rat: a whole-body and mechanistic perspective

Publications: Zhang and Pamenter. (2019). Fossorial Damaraland mole rats do not exhibit a blunted hypercapnic ventilatory response. Biology Letters

Zhang and Pamenter. (2019). Ventilatory, metabolic, and thermoregulatory responses of Damaraland mole rats to acute and chronic hypoxia. Journal of Comparative Physiology B

Travis Branigan

Honours B.Sc. Student (2017-2018)

Project title: Behavioural Responses to Environmental Hypercapnia in Damaraland Mole Rats (Fukomys damarensis)

Publication: Branigan, Elkhalifa, and Pamenter. (2018). Behavioral responses to environmental hypercapnia in two eusocial species of African mole rats. Journal of Comparative Physiology A

headshot

Amanda Vandewint

Honours B.Sc. Student (2017-2018)

Project title: Exploring the role of a moisture-mediated body temperature cooling strategy in hypoxic naked mole rats

Publications: Vandewint A, Zhu-Palowsky A, Kirby A, Tattersall GJ and Pamenter ME. (2019). Evaporative cooling and vasodilation mediate thermoregulation in naked mole rats during normoxia but not hypoxia. Journal of Thermal Biology.

Lewis Han

UROP awardee (2017-2018)

Max Clayson

Honours B.Sc. Student (2016-2017)

Project title: The role of carbonic anhydrase in modulating metabolic and ventilatory responses to hypercapnia in naked mole-rats

Publication: Clayson M, Devereaux MEM, and Pamenter ME (2020). Neurokinin-1 receptor activation is sufficient to restore the hypercapnic ventilatory response in the Substance P-deficient naked mole-rat. American Journal of Physiology.

Sulaf Elkhalifa

Honours B.Sc. Student (2016-2017)

Project title: Behavioural and thermal responses to hypercapnia in naked mole-rats

Publication: Branigan, Elkhalifa, and Pamenter. (2018). Behavioral responses to environmental hypercapnia in two eusocial species of African mole rats. Journal of Comparative Physiology A

Aaron Ilacqua

Honours B.Sc. Student (2015-2016)

Project title: Behavioural and thermal responses of individual naked mole rats to environmental hypoxia within their thermoneutral zone

Publication: Ilacqua, Kirby, and Pamenter (2017). Behavioural responses of naked mole rats to acute hypoxia and anoxia. Biology Letters

Sharn Gill

B.Sc. Student (2015-2016)

Project title: Exploring the role of glutamatergic receptors in the control of ventilatory responses to acute and chronic hypoxia in naked mole rats

Publication: Dzal, Seow, Borecky, Chung, Gill, Milsom and Pamenter (2019). Glutamatergic receptors modulate normoxic but not hypoxic ventilation and metabolism in naked mole rats. Frontiers in Physiology.