Rate My Professor Colin Brown

Professor Colin Brown is a Professor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Otago, where he serves as Principal Investigator of the Colin Brown Laboratory within the Centre for Neuroendocrinology. He received his BSc (Hons) and PhD from the University of Glasgow in 1993. After postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh and McGill University, he joined the University of Otago in 2005. Brown's research in neuroendocrinology employs electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry to study how the brain controls reproductive and cardiovascular functions, focusing on oxytocin and vasopressin neurons in the hypothalamus. His laboratory investigates clinical conditions including diabetes, hypertension, myocardial infarction, preterm labour, dehydration, and increased food intake during pregnancy.

Brown examines the regulation of posterior pituitary hormone release, which affects blood pressure, body temperature, aggression, affection, milk production, labour, and lactation. Key discoveries include the activation of vasopressin neurons by high salt intake through BDNF-mediated KCC2 downregulation, impairing baroreflex inhibition and contributing to hypertension development (Neuron, 2015). He has demonstrated that oxytocin neurons selectively respond to kisspeptin late in pregnancy, potentially enabling targeted preterm birth management. Prominent publications include "Physiological pathways regulating the activity of magnocellular neurosecretory cells" (Progress in Neurobiology, 1999), "Physiological regulation of magnocellular neurosecretory cell activity: integration of intrinsic, local and afferent mechanisms" (Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 2013), "High salt intake increases blood pressure via BDNF-mediated downregulation of KCC2 and impaired baroreflex inhibition of vasopressin neurons" (Neuron, 2015), "Magnocellular neurons and posterior pituitary function" (Comprehensive Physiology, 2016), and "Prolactin regulation of oxytocin neurone activity in pregnancy and lactation" (Journal of Physiology, 2017). Funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund, Lottery Health Research, University of Otago Research Grant, and Wellcome Trust, his work involves collaborations with institutions such as McGill University, University of Edinburgh, and Medical College of Georgia. Brown has presented public lectures on oxytocin neurons and brain function.