Reaching beyond boundaries
Driven to understand extreme scenarios, like the mountain expedition in this photo, our lab studies the limits of human performance and physiology, no matter where the journey takes us.
Overview
The Human Integrative and Environmental Physiology Laboratory researches human health and disease in extreme conditions. The knowledge gained from this research is used to help optimize performance and health in everyday life. The lab, which is based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is led by principal investigator Bruce D. Johnson, Ph.D.
Our lab has three major branches of research:
- Cardiovascular diseases.
- Remote physiologic monitoring.
- Optimization of performance and health.
Within these research areas, we focus on health and physiology in extreme environments and situations. Our research involves the study of healthy people in extreme conditions, such as reduced gravity or high-altitude environments. We also research situations that typically involve exceptional mental or physical stress, such as high-level competition or emergency response. In addition, we study people with conditions that cause ongoing physical stress, such as pulmonary arterial hypertension and heart failure.
Our research team is driven by the desire to learn more about how unusual and extreme conditions affect physiology and how to best monitor resulting physiologic changes. Our lab uses that information to optimize health and performance for everyone.
We work to find simple and efficient ways to overcome complex challenges. This includes analyzing exhaled breath patterns to detect declining status in patients with heart failure, developing mobile health apps to serve as personal health coaches, and creating better wearable technology to help measure and improve health indexes and monitor patients to reduce hospital admissions.
About Dr. Johnson
In addition to directing the Human Integrative and Environmental Physiology Lab,
Dr. Johnson is a professor of medicine and a professor of physiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Johnson is engaged in numerous clinical studies and has published hundreds of research papers. He has expertise in cardiovascular medicine, physiology and biomedical engineering, and preventive medicine. His hope is that knowledge gained through his research will lead to improved treatment options for people with pulmonary conditions and heart disease.