THERMOMICS · Unraveling the functional architecture of the human thermoregulatory system through immunological, circadian and sensory mechanisms: focus on the mature European population

Thermoregulatory abnormalities are major public health issues during exposure to heat stress, particularly for the elderly. Thousands of deaths among the mature have been attributed to heat waves that encompassed Europe recently, while an increase in heat-related deaths is projected due to global warming. Exertional heat illness and death among highly motivated athletes and soldiers also occur frequently, particularly since the deployments of European soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq. The current proposal addresses mechanisms that may explain the sequence of events leading to heat stroke and death. The project’s main objective is to identify whether the regulated index of human thermoregulation is temperature- of heat-based by applying thermal stimuli in different bodily systems while making precise time-based measurements of temperature and heat storage. Apropos, the letters ‘ICS’ in the proposal’s acronym ‘THERMOMICS’ indicate the immunological, circadian and sensory systems that will be investigated, while ‘M’ refers to the mature population that the novel knowledge will be applied to. The potential benefit from this research is vast because it will help us understand the pathophysiological mechanisms related to thermal stress and relate the progressive changes in the thermal strain to inflammatory responses, and effects on the circadian rhythm and the sensory system. The fellow researcher has a true thirst for scientific research and is a highly accomplished individual at his stage of career development with the personal and intellectual qualities to thrive in any research environment. He has already received an Assistant Researcher offer by the host institution, a state of the art facility encapsulating pioneer researchers of high caliber. The thriving collaboration between the researcher and the host hitherto will guarantee a successful implementation of the fellowship.