Brian Gulbransen, Ph.D.

Professor/Chair, Physiology and Cell Biology
Headshot of Brian Gulbransen

Summary

The goal of my research program is to improve the treatment of gut disorders that include disorders of gut-brain interaction (such as irritable bowel syndrome) and inflammatory bowel disease. To do so, we study mechanisms that regulate the neural circuitry of the gut, and ask how inflammation changes these circuits to produce long-term issues with gut motility and pain. Within this context, my group focuses on the regulation of neural networks by glial cells, which are cells of the nervous system that support and tune neuron functions. We aim to understand the role of glial cells in nervous system physiology and elucidate how glial changes during neuroinflammation contribute to the plasticity of neural circuits. My group is particularly well-known for our work on a special type of glia called enteric glia that condition the activities of neuron types in the gut.

Notable research findings from my group include discovering that:

  • Crosstalk between gut neurons and glia is a fundamental process that controls how the gut works.
  • Glial responses to inflammation promote changes in gut neurocircuits that lead to long-term changes in gut function.
  • Glia set the sensitivity of neurons that convey gut pain and can produce increased pain signaling in disease.
  • Exposure to early life adversity can increase susceptibility to gut disorders by changing the nature of enteric glia.

Education

  • B.S., Physiology & Zoology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
  • Ph.D., Neuroscience, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
  • Postdoctoral, Neurogastroenterology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB

Publications

  1. Thomasi B, Jamka J, Gulbransen BD. Calcium Imaging Studies in Enteric Glia. Methods Mol Biol. 2026;2971:121-133. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4795-0_1 PMID: 41028630
  2. Gonzales J, Durand T, Gulbransen BD. Rodent Enteric Glia Culture. Methods Mol Biol. 2026;2971:33-42. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4795-0_4.PMID: 41028622
  3. Rao M and Gulbransen BD. Enteric Glia in the textbook “Glia”. Cold Springs Harbor Perspectives in Biology. Stevens B, Monk K, and Freeman M (eds.) 2024
  4. Gulbransen BD (2014) Enteric Glia. Colloquium Series on Neuroglia in Biology and Medicine: From Physiology to Disease. Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 1-70. A. Verkhratsky, V. Parpura (eds.). Morgan & Claypool. doi: 10.4199/C00113ED1V01Y201407NGL002. Published Aug. 11, 2014. Link on Amazon: http://amzn.com/1615046607.
  5. Gulbransen BD (2014) Glial Cells and Interstitial Cells of Cajal. Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences. Elsevier. Michael Caplan (ed.).
  6. Brown I and Gulbransen BD. (2014) “Enteric glial cells: Implications in gut pathology”, in Pathological potential of neuroglia. Ch. 21, pages 493-518. V. Parpura, A. Verkhratsky (eds.), doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0974_21. Springer Science+Business Media New York.