Research Professor of Physiology
Dr. Ou received his B.S. degree in 1954 from Peking (Beijing) University in China. After two years as a predoctoral trainee at the Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry, Shanghai, China, he became a teaching assistant and subsequently a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, Beijing University. In 1962, he was appointed as a Demonstrator in Physiology at Hong Kong University. He came to Dartmouth College in 1964 and earned a Ph.D. degree in physiology in 1971. Thereafter, he moved through the ranks as assistant professor and associate professor and in 1986, became a full Research Professor, all in the Department of Physiology.
Dr. Ou's research interest has focused on the pathophysiological effects and the underlying mechanisms of high altitude (or hypoxic) exposure and the adaptive mechanisms to this condi-tion. For nearly 30 years, Dr. Ou has investigated a wide range of physiological, pathological and biochemical effects of chronic and acute hypoxic exposure in animals. Of particular importance from these investigations, two rat strains have been identified showing marked differences in their susceptibilities to chronic mountain sickness (CMS) as well as acute mountain sickness (AMS), thereby providing animal models for investigating the pathogenetic mechanisms of these diseases.
Both CMS and AMS are serious diseases that afflict high altitude natives or sojourners alike. Although these illnesses have been documented more than half a century ago, their causes remain disputed. Using these animal models, both CMS and AMS have been extensively characterized in terms of the cardiopulmonary and respiratory responses, molecular and genetic basis of the polycythemic responses, histological and ultrastructural changes of pulmonary vasculature during the development of the diseases. Promising leads toward ultimate elucidation of the pathogenesis of these diseases have been obtained. Studies are currently undertaken to test the emerging hypotheses.
Ou, L.C., and Smith, R.P. Strain and sex differ-ences in the cardiopulmonary responses to chronic hypoxia. Respir. Physiol. 53:367-377, 1983.
Ou, L.C., Chen, J., Fiore, E., Leiter, J.C., Brinck-Johnsen, T., Birchard, G.F., Clemons, G., and Smith, R.P. Ventilatory and hematopoietic responses to chronic hypoxia in two rat strains. J. Appl. Physiol. 72(6):2354-2363, 1992.
West, J.B, G.L.Colice, Y.L. Lee, Y. Namha, S.S. Kurdak, Z. Fu, L.C. Ou, O. Mathieu-Costello. Pathogenesis of high-altitude pulmonary oedema: direct evidence of stress failure of pulmonary capillaries. Eur. Respir. J. 8: 523- 529, 1995.
Du, H.K, Y.J. Lee, G.L. Colice, J.C. Leiter, and L.C.Ou. Pathophysiological effects of hemodilution in chronic mountain sickness in rats. J. Appl. Physiol. 80(2): 574-582, 1996.
Ou, L.C., S. Salceda, S.J. Schuster,L.M. Dunnack,T. Brink-Johnsen, J. Chen, and J.C. Leiter.Polycythemic responses to hypoxia: molecular and genetic mechanisms of chronic mountain sickness. J. Appl. Physiol.84(4): 1242-1251,1998.
Thron, C.D., J. Chen, J.C.Leiter, and L.C. Ou. Reno-vascular adaptive changes in chronic hypoxic polycythemia. Kidney International. In Press,1998.