The entire body works together to maintain blood pressure; however, sometimes our kidneys work against this process and retain too much sodium and water, increasing blood pressure (or hypertension). Hypertension is the primary cause of morbidity and end organ damage in the US and globally. The Wynne laboratory is focused on understanding how the immune system 'senses' increases in sodium by resident macrophages in the kidney. We also are investigating how the sympathetic nervous system and cardiovascular system are impacted by these kidney-specific immune cells. This stream will open students to understanding cardio-renal physiology, and some pharmacology, using a variety of bench lab methods (from cell culture to whole animal methods).