Joseph Francis, BVSc, MVSc, PhD

Joseph Francis, BVSc, MVSc, PhD

Joseph Francis, BVSc, MVSc, PhD

2017 Presentation Title – Effects of Blueberries in a Preclinical Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Joseph Francis, B.V.Sc., M.V.Sc., Ph.D., is a veterinarian by profession. He received his Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine in animal husbandry in 1991 and Masters in Veterinary Virology & Immunology in 1994 from Madras Veterinary College, Chennai, India. He then came to the United States to pursue his doctoral studies in neuroendocrinology from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas in 1995. After completion of his doctoral research in 1999, he joined Dr. Robert Felder’s lab at the University of Iowa, for a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular pathophysiology. He joined the faculty of Louisiana State University as an Assistant Professor in 2003. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007. Currently he is a Professor in comparative biomedical sciences department at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His research interest is on understanding the role played by central nervous system cytokine in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular and renal diseases. More recently he has started working on understanding the role played by brain inflammation in post-traumatic stress disorder. He uses pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention including blueberries in his research.