As an anesthesiologist, I am fascinated by how people respond so differently to blood pressure medications that we administer everyday. I am also interested in how job strain and mental stress can predict the future development of hypertension in some individuals and not others. A major mechanistic pathway of heart and blood vessel function is through the beta-adrenergic receptor. To advance the understanding of adrenergic receptor genotype and cardiovascular phenotype, I conduct research on how genetic variation in beta-adrenergic receptors influences cardiovascular control in humans. I spent 6 months of my Mayo anesthesia residency in the Human Integrative Physiology Laboratory. This led to successful application of a 5-year NIH mentored patient oriented career development award (K23). The studies performed under this award have discovered that small variations (polymorphisms) in the gene encoding the beta-2 adrenergic receptor alter heart and blood vessel responsiveness to pharmacologic and physiologic stimulation, and dietary salt restriction modulates these polymorphic influences. To expand current knowledge of beta-2 adrenergic receptor phenotype, future studies will require human pharmacologic and physiologic studies based on the entire sequence of the beta-2 receptor gene (haplotype). Transitioning toward a career as an independent investigator, I recently obtained NIH R01 funding to perform detailed and mechanistic high-resolution phenotyping that will define the relationship between the pressor reponse to sympathetic maneuvers like mental stress and handgrip, beta-2 receptor mediated cardiac and vascular function, haplotype variation of the beta-2 receptor, and dietary sodium manipulation. These proposals are consistent with the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research and Mayo's NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award.