Many thanks to Wei Zhang whose assistance and hard work made it possible for me to work on several aspects of the research at the same time. Thank you to Dr. Douglas Allan who showed me the immunohistochemistry methods used in my work, and who taught me the intricacies o f rodent surgery and diaphragm isolation. Also, thanks, Doug, for introducing me to a variety of different musical artists that I have come to enjoy over the years, and for your inimitable character and sense o f humour. I wish

more »

... to thank Dr. Miguel Martin-Caraballo for many interesting and amusing philosophical and political discussions, stories o f Cuba, and your unique personality when we were students in the lab. Thank you to Robin Clugston and Silvia Pagliardini for your friendship, your assistance with my experiments and the unflagging encouragement you have given me. Thanks to Dr. Jun Ren for enjoyable conversations about work and life in China, and for your sense of humour and to Dr. Ba Fang for advice and help in getting ready for my defense and for assistance with thesis formatting. Thanks to all of the other people in the Greer lab over the years who made it an enjoyable place to work and learn, including