Alfredo J. Gamboa, MD, MSCI

Alfredo J. Gamboa, MD, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Dr. Gamboa’s research focuses on the interactions between the autonomic nervous system and nitric oxide in the regulation of blood pressure, in normal physiology and disease states. He is particularly interested in the impact of increased sympathetic activity on impaired nitric oxide function as seen in obesity associated hypertension. He and his fellow researchers are interested in understanding the role of the interactions between neural and local mechanisms that regulate blood pressure. They run a complete autonomic laboratory that includes autonomic reflex testing, tilt table testing, microneurography (direct recording of sympathetic traffic), measurement of plasma catecholamines and metabolites, ganglionic blockade to induce transient autonomic failure, and estimation of norepinephrine spillover.

Dr. Gamboa and his fellow researchers also perform physiological and pharmacological tests using different techniques that include determination of peak oxygen consumption, measurement of cardiac output by the re-breathing method and the perfused forearm technique to assess endothelial function.