My research interests involve understanding mechanisms of spinal learning within the context of breathing function. Within the respiratory neural control network there are several known spinal mechanisms underlying plasticity and they all lead to a long-lasting increase in phrenic motor output; a direct correlation to contraction of the diaphragm and, thus, breathing. I have shown that hypoxia-inducible factors can act as neurotrophic stimulators of the phrenic motor network to elicit facilitation in much the same way. A large portion of my current research focus is aimed towards activating phrenic motor networks via electrical spinal cord stimulation to enable functional recovery of breathing after upper cervical spinal cord injury in rodents. Recently published work utilizing this model in a closed-loop stimulation paradigm has shown promise for eliciting plasticity within the respiratory motor network.