The primary goal of our research is to better understand the role fat (e.g. fatty acids) plays in the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Historically, fatty acids were thought to be inert molecules that simply stored energy or comprised cell membranes. However, it is now recognized that fatty acids are very biologically active and act to regulate many biological processes to control metabolism and susceptibility to diseases. For example, saturated fatty acids typically promote insulin resistance and perhaps obesity whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids, decrease the development of insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity. Our research team studies how these different fatty acids work to elicit these effects. Specifically, we are addressing the following questions:  What mediates the effects of these different fatty acids? How do different fatty acids signal within cells to generate their effects (e.g. gene expression)? What are the intracellular enzymes responsible for fatty acid metabolism and how do they control the effects of the different fatty acids? Although our primary focus is on the liver, we are also involved with studies examining these questions as they relate to adipocyte energy metabolism and food intake regulation in the brain.

Sources of funding:
National Institutes of Health
American Diabetes Association
Minnesota Obesity Center