Anthony Blikslager is a veterinary surgeon with a clinical emphasis on surgical gastroenterology in large animals. He also has a doctorate in gastrointestinal physiology. He has developed novel large animal models of intestinal diseases that afflict both people and animals. A major focus of his research has been understanding mechanisms of mucosal epithelial repair in the setting of ischemia/ reperfusion injury in pigs. He has also used his knowledge of electrophysiology as well as anatomical cellular components of the mucosa to design models that answer basic questions about intestinal mucosal integrity. Much of this research has focused on the relative roles of epithelial restitution and re-assembly of tight junctions, with detailed analyses of the mechanistic roles of ion transporters, enteric nerves, and inflammatory cells in mucosal repair. He has also studied neural-epithelial interactions in the context of stress-induced gut dysfunction. The interaction between glial cells in particular and injured epithelium is a recent area of study.

Dr. Blikslager’s expertise in surgical gastroenterology in large animals has been of particular value to the CGIBD through the development of the Large Animal Models Core. The Core takes advantage of the expertise and facilities in the College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University to develop large animal models relevant to human diseases.