I am significantly involved in medical education, especially the development and implementation of clinical human anatomy courses.
The focus of my research program is to determine the activation and plasticity of neurons, especially corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)-containing neurons, in response to a brain insult (i.e., stress, transient global forebrain ischemia, seizure). Current studies address

1) the effect of transient global ischemia and seizure on the neuroendocrine hypothalamus, particularly neural substrates involved in regulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis. 

2) In addition to its neuroendocrine function, CRF also functions as an excitatory neurotransmitter/neuromodulator in extrahypothalamic brain sites.

Studies in this laboratory suggest that extrahypothalamic CRF is significantly increased following specific brain insults and may play a role in ischemic and seizure brain damage. Investigations, which address the association of CRF induction following a brain insult with neuropathological processes, the administration of a CRF receptor antagonist to protect against the neurodegeneration and direct neurotoxic effects of CRF on neurons, are being pursued.

A Hiwatashi (P). R.Sidhu, RK Lee, R Deguzman, DT Piekut, PA Westesson: Kyphoplasty increases vertebral body height more than vertebroplasty. A cadaveric study, Radiology 237 (3): 1115-1119, 2005.

Jaworski, R.L., D. Piekut, and Blair, M.L. 2002, Pregnancy alters lateral parabrachial nucleus but not hypothalamic Fos expression following hypotensive hemorrhage Brain Res. Bull., 57 (5): 595-602.

Blair, M. L., Parman-Jaworski, R. L., Want, A. and Piekut, D. T. 2001, Parabrachial nucleus modulates cardiovascular responses to blood loss. Am. J. Physiol., 280: R1141-48.

Piekut, D.T. and B. Phipps. 1999, Corticotropin-releasing factor--immunolabeled fibers in brain regions with localized kainate neurotoxicity, Acta Neuropathol., 98(6): 622-8.

Piekut, D.T. and Phipps, B. 1998, Increased corticotropin-releasing factor immunoreactivity in select brain sites following kainate elicited seizures. Brain Res., 781:100-113.

Blair, M.L., Want, A., Olschowka, J.A. and Piekut, D.T., 1998 Role of paraventricular nucleus parvocellular neurons in the compensatory responses to graded hemorrhage. Am. J. Physiol., 275: R278-R285.

Samoriski, G.M., Piekut, D.T. and Applegate, C.D. 1998, Regional analysis of the patterns of Fos induction in brain following a seizure: Dependence on seizure history and phenotype. Neurosci., 84:1209-1222