Dr. Gross is an anesthesiologist developing non-narcotic cardiac-safe pain therapeutics. Although opioids are addictive with many unwanted side effects, opioids prior to or during an ischemic event reduce cellular injury, unlike other analgesics such as COX-2 inhibitors which exacerbate injury. By studying how opioids reduce myocardial injury and how the pathways of nociception and cardioprotection are linked, the Gross Lab is designing next generation analgesics that are safe to use for those with cardiovascular disease.

The lab presently has two agents which they are further studying in the basic science lab for their potential to be non-narcotic, cardiac safe pain therapeutics.

In addition, they are also interested in investigating the mechanism of how the nociceptive and cardioprotective signaling pathways are linked. They are presently looking at how TRPV1 channels, the ion channel which gives you the hot sensation in your mouth after you eat tat chili pepper and PKC may be part of the cellular cross-talk between these two pathways.

Dr. Gross's previous basic science research background involves examining the mechanism of how opioids and volatile anesthetics protect tissue from ischemia-reperfusion injury and what are the molecular mechanisms involved both through in vivo and cellular models of ischemia-reperfusion injury. This is also a continued interest of the laboratory.