Jessica Whitaker-Fornek, Ph.D.

Areas of Interest: I am broadly interested in the neural control of breathing in mammals and birds. The rhythmic drive to breathe begins in utero where fetuses engage in fetal breathing movements. These early breathing rhythms don’t contribute to gas exchange but may serve as exercise for growing respiratory muscles and the neural circuits controlling them. I am interested in how modulatory signals in the prenatal environment, such as endogenous opioids, shape the maturation of breathing control circuits so that aerial breathing can be initiated at birth. From a comparative perspective, I am also interested in the development of breathing control circuits in birds, which employ different respiratory strategies compared to mammals. My long-term career goal is to be an independent investigator at a research university where my lab team can uncover the “birth” of breathing circuits in birds and mammals.