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Public Profile

Jack Grider, PhD
Jack Grider, PhD

    Dr. John (Jack) Grider attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, graduating with a BA in biology cum laude in 1974. At that point, he began his career interest in gastrointestinal physiology working in the Gastrointestinal Research Lab of the University of Pennsylvania division of the Philadelphia General Hospital under the direction of William B. Long, MD. This work centered around studies of intestinal transit, macroamylase production, and pancreatic enzyme physiology and biochemistry. After a year and a half, he began a PhD program in physiology and biophysics in 1975 at Hahnamann University, now the School of Medicine of Drexel University. Under the direction of Anne Ambromovage, PhD, he did some of the first studies on the gastrointestinal motility actions of the newly discovered endorphins and enkephalins (endogenous opioid peptides).

    After graduating in 1981, he began postdoctoral studies in the division of gastroenterology of the Medical College of Virginia, of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) under the direction of Gabriel M. Makhlouf, MD, PhD, a world renowned leader in neuropeptide physiology and medicine.

    Since moving to VCU, Dr. Grider has risen through the academic ranks to professor in the departments of physiology and biophysics and the department of medicine, division of gastroenterology. His work has centered around understanding the basic physiology of the enteric nervous system, with the goal of understanding how enteric neurons innervate the smooth muscle layers, how these neurons determine their neurochemical phenotype and most importantly how they form the appropriate neural circuits to mediate the peristaltic reflex which underlies the main propulsive motility of the gut: peristalsis. Most recently, he has focused on the afferent network and how lunimal signals cause release of paracrine mediators, such as serotonin and neurotrophins, that activate the afferent neurons and initiate peristalsis. These studies have resulted in over 100 original papers and reviews.

    Dr. Grider has served as a member of study section grant review panels for NIH, NASA, NSF, and the Veteran's Administration. In addition he has been a member of several editorial boards of major journals, including The American Journal of Physiology. He has trained numerous students, postdoctoral and GI fellows who are now in academic and clinical positions  worldwide.

    Schedule28 Mar 2024