For decades, University Distinguished Professor Mark Nelson has studied the way the human body uses calcium to affect blood flow, a body of research recognized with a prestigious membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Most recently a team Nelson led uncovered a novel mechanism that reshapes our understanding of how blood flow is regulated in the brain. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a high-impact, peer-reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), introduces electro-calcium (E-Ca) coupling, a process that integrates electrical and calcium signaling in brain capillaries to ensure precise blood flow delivery to active neurons.

Read more about Mark Nelson's research.

Research of this type has contributed to the University of Vermont's designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an R1 institution, placing it in the top tier of research universities in the U.S.