Biology professor publishes in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Cell and Developmental Biology

Biology professor publishes in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Cell and Developmental Biology

Biology professor publishes in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Cell and Developmental Biology 

Dr. Robert C. Sizemore, professor of biology at Alcorn State University, has published an editorial “How Does Stress Affect the Immune System” in the inaugural issue of Journal of Cell and Developmental Biology.

Dr. Sizemore, who was recently named as an editor for the journal, was invited to submit the article, which highlights research conducted in his laboratory at Alcorn State University.

“It describes how small peptides derived from endorphins and enkephalins modulate immune responses in a biphasic manner,” stated Dr. Sizemore.  “It explains why short-term stress has been shown to enhance immune responses whereas long-term stress leads to suppression. Additionally, these studies may identify a novel immunoregulatory mechanism heretofore unrecognized and given that the enkephalins are conserved throughout nature, it may represent one of the oldest means of regulating immune responses in phylogeny.”