The John B. Pierce Laboratory is a multidisciplinary research institute devoted to studying the ways that biological systems interact with their environment, especially the 'built' (constructed) environment, and with the consequences of these interactions for human health and well being. Scientists at the Laboratory study interactions with potentially harmful or beneficial stimuli at several levels of analysis, ranging from molecular processes within cells to behavioral processes of entire organisms. People (and other organisms) have two basic ways of responding to environmental stimuli: physiologically and behaviorally. As a consequence, research is directed toward two main thematic areas: (1) energy balance, and (2) sensory neuroscience. Currently, the Laboratory boasts outstanding research programs in cardiovascular function, blood flow and control, energy metabolism, and sensory neuroscience.