Mucosal Immunology Laboratory, Director: W. Allan Walker
Summary of Research
Dr. Pothoulakis is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Division of Gastroenterology at BIDMC, and the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at MGH. He graduated from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki Medical School in Greece and, following his medical internship and residency, he joined the Division of Gastroenterology at Boston University Medical Center as a Research Fellow in 1982. After completion of his fellowship he became a faculty member at the Department of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and then joined the Beth Israel Medical Center in 1990 as a Senior Research Associate and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Pothoulakis’ research program is primarily focused on the role of neuropeptides and hormones in several disease states, including Clostridium difficile infection, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. His recent projects also involve the neuropeptide-dependent mechanisms by which communication between the intestinal mucosa and the fat depots affect the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation. In 2003 he established a "Gastrointestinal Neuropeptide Center" in the Division of Gastroenterology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that involves a multi-disciplinary approach to study neuropeptide function in the GI tract.
Dr. Pothoulakis has been as been actively involved in training of fellows in basic sciences in GI-related research themes. He is an author of over 100 original articles and numerous reviews and book chapters and serves in the Editorial Board of several biomedical journals, including Gastroenterology, and American Journal of Physiology. He is also a member of Hormones, Transmitters, Growth Factors and Their Receptors, and Immunology, Microbiology, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Sections of the American Gastroenterological Association.
Dr. Pothoulakis is the recipient of the highly prestigious "Janssen Award in Basic Research in Gastrointestinal Motility" awarded by the American Gastroenterological Association in recognition of his discoveries and insights into the function of gastrointestinal neuropeptides. Dr. Pothoulakis’ research projects are currently funded by three RO-1 grants from the National Institute of Health. He is also the Director of a NIH Program Project grant that examines the barrier function of the GI Tract in health and disease.
Contact Information
Fax: 617-667-2767E-mail: cpothoul@bidmc.harvard.edu
