Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Environmental Medicine
Founder, Institute for Environmental Medicine

Research Interests

Acute and sustained adaptations to natural and synthetic respiratory environments at rest and at work. Control of internal oxygen and acid-base environments. Extension of tolerance to oxygen and hypoxia in clinical, atmospheric, undersea and aerospace circumstances. Gas narcosis, density, and toxic effects. Decompression and isobaric gas lesion diseases. Measurement of limits of human physical, physiologic and cognitive performance in extreme environments. Technology transfer through Environmental Biomedical Research Data Center.

Dr. Lambertsen is the founder and leader of the:

Research Techniques

Dynamic measurement of human respiratory reactivity, blood and brain acid-base and oxygenation states. Mental, psychomotor and sensory performance measurement. Retinal electrical activity and visual evoked potential. Doppler monitoring of vascular gas embolism. Predictive modeling of interactions of environmental stress effects on physiologic functions.

Summary of Research Program

Use of altered environmental gases, pressures and temperatures to magnify and make measurable changes in fundamental respiratory, neural and cardiovascular functions, to elucidate normal regulatory mechanisms, and to study their disruption by graded exposures to environmental extremes. Development of advanced decompression procedures. Human beings are used as appropriate for the effects and mechanisms examined. Chemical, electrical, flow, histopathology, neuromuscular functions and mental functions are employed to track isolated or concurrent effects of purposeful activity or external physical or chemical stress. Research emphasizes quantitative separation of effects of oxygen, pressure and inert gas components upon specific tissue and organ functions. Measurements of effect are followed by study of methods to prevent or extend tolerance to effects (e.g., hyperoxia, hypoxia, narcosis). Results are applicable to clinical use of oxygen and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, to manned undersea and aerospace activity, synthetic biologic fluids, anesthesia, and influences of drugs upon mental and physical functions.

Key References

· Lambertsen, C.J. and J. Idicula. A new gas lesion syndrome in man, induced by "isobaric gas counter-diffusion." J. Appl. Physiol. 39: 434-443, 1975.

· Lambertsen, C.J. Extension of oxygen tolerance: the philosophy and significance. In: Symposium on Extension of Oxygen Tolerance. Exper. Lung Res. 14 (Suppl.): 1035-1058, 1992.

·Lambertsen, C.J., M.L. Gernhardt, R.G. Miller, and E. Hopkin. Development of decompression procedures. Based upon integrated analytic models of tissue gas bubble dynamics and oxygen tolerance, Environmental Biomedical Research Data Center Report No. 28.7.92, Institute for Environmental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center..