UCI Selects Acupuncture Expert for Chair
A UC Irvine professor and expert in acupuncture’s effects on the heart and circulation has been chosen for the Lawrence K. Dodge Endowed Chair in Integrative Biology.
Dr. John Longhurst, a professor of medicine and cardiology, was named to the chair created with a $1.2-million gift from Dodge and his wife, Kristine. Dodge was chief executive and founder of American Sterling Corp. of Irvine, a mortgage, insurance and banking firm.
Longhurst said he hoped his work would lead to better treatment for high blood pressure and heart disease.
His research has shown that acupuncture releases endorphins that relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure, which can reduce the risk of heart disease. Now, he is investigating how acupuncture affects the nervous system and control of blood flow and blood pressure.
The research is another example of the UCI College of Medicine’s study of nontraditional treatments. In 1999, Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Samueli and his wife gave the university $5.7 million to establish the Susan Samueli Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. It supports much of Longhurst’s work.
