Colleen Cosgrove Hegg
- Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Neuroscience Program
- Life Science
- 1355 Bogue St Room B439B
- East Lansing MI 48824
- 517-432-2339
- hegg@msu.edu
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Hegg is studying the role of purinergics in neuroregeneration of olfactory receptor neurons. Her previous studies suggest that the purinergic system plays an integral role in signaling acute damage to the olfactory epithelium. She is currently investigating whether endogenous ATP, released by noxious stimulation due to airborne pollutants or toxicants, acts as a neurotrophic factor in the peripheral olfactory system. The olfactory system has not been extensively studied from a toxicological perspective and Dr. Hegg is poised to initiate studies on the effects of environmental toxicants, including components of cigarette smoke and other airborne toxicants, on olfaction, glial-like sustentacular cell function, toxicity and neuroregeneration. She also has a long-standing interest in the cellular mechanisms of toxicity, particularly, but not exclusively, in the nervous system.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Kalamazoo College, B.A., Chemistry, 1990
University of Wisconsin, Ph.D., Environmental Toxicology, 1996
AFFILIATED WEBSITES
https://phmtox.msu.edu/people/faculty/colleen-hegg-ph-d/
https://neuroscience.natsci.msu.edu/directory/faculty/colleen-c-hegg-phd/