The social and economic burdens of diseases associated with abnormal metabolism (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and liver disease) are staggering. Recent statistics indicate that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US and worldwide (American Heart Association); almost 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes and three times that many more are pre-diabetic (American Diabetes Association); and at last 30 million Americans have some form of liver disease (American Liver Foundation).
The etiologies of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver disease involve complex interactions among genetic and environmental factors, and epidemic obesity is a major risk factor associated with today's metabolic disease burden.
Several EMD members study obesity, its consequences, and its interactions with environmental stressors. Projects range from investigations into basic molecular mechanisms of lipid storage, to animal models of the impact of diet or environmental toxicant exposure on obesity and disease, to epidemiological studies identifying risk factors for obesity in children, to intervention strategies. Other EMD group members focus on the role of the environment in cardiac or liver disease, or on xenobiotic metabolism as a modifier of susceptibility to environmental chemicals.
Members
| Name | Affiliations | Research Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Kocarek, Ph.D., EMD Leader | Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University | Regulation of xenobiotic and endogenous metabolism |
| Alan Dombkowski, Ph.D. | Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine | Computational methods to elucidate molecular mechanisms of disease and to identify potential therapeutic targets. |
| James Granneman, Ph.D. | Department of Psychiatry and Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine | Adipose tissue cell and molecular biology, target identification and high through-put screening for novel obesity and diabetes therapeutics |
| Samson Jamesdaniel, Ph.D. | Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University | Mechanisms of hearing loss induced by noise, drugs, environmental chemicals, and aging |
| Anjaneyulu Kowluru, Ph.D. | Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University | Mechanisms of diabetes pathogenesis |
| Todd Leff, Ph.D. | Department of Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine | Regulation of gene expression by metabolic, nutritional, and environmental signals to understand mechanisms that underlie obesity and diabetes |
| Phillip Levy, M.D., MPH | Department of Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine | Heart failure and hypertension with a dual focus on acute management and early disease detection |
| James Luyendyk, Ph.D. | Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation and Institute for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University | Gene-environment interactions and role of the coagulation cascade in liver pathogenesis |
| Michael Petriello, Ph.D. | Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University | |
| Melissa Runge-Morris, M.D. | Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University | Regulation and function of the sulfotransferase (SULT) family of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes; role of SULTs in environmental susceptibility during development |
| Zhengping Yi, Ph.D. | Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University | Insulin signaling, insulin resistance, diabetes, and proteomics |
| Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D. | Department of Immunology and Microbiology and Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine | Cellular stress responses that originate from the endoplasmic reticulum and/or mitochondria and modulate inflammation and metabolism |
Research Highlights
Barrett KG, Fang H, Kocarek TA, and Runge-Morris M. Transcriptional Regulation of Cytosolic Sulfotransferase 1C2 by Vitamin D Receptor in LS180 Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Cells.
Drug Metab Dispos 44:1431-4, 2016
Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Havstad S, Basu N, Ownby DR, Park SK, Ownby DR, Johnson CC, and Wegienka G. Detectable Blood Lead Level and Body Size in Early Childhood. Biol Trace Elem Res. 171:41-47, 2016
Mottillo EP, Desjardins EM, Crane JD, Smith BK, Green AE, Ducommun S, Henriksen TI, Rebalka IA, Razi A, Sakamoto K, Scheele C, Kemp BE, Hawke TJ, Ortega J, Granneman JG, and Steinberg GR. Lack of Adipocyte AMPK Exacerbates Insulin Resistance and Hepatic Steatosis through Brown and Beige Adipose Tissue Function. Cell Metab 24:118-29, 2016
Naar-King S, Ellis DA, Idalski Carcone A, Templin T, Jacques-Tiura AJ, Brogan Hartlieb K, Cunningham P, and Jen KL. Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) to Construct Weight Loss Interventions for African American Adolescents. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 45:428-41, 2016
Zhang X, Damacharla D, Ma D, Qi Y, Tagett R, Draghici S, Kowluru A, and Yi Z. Quantitative proteomics reveals novel protein interaction partners of PP2A catalytic subunit in pancreatic β-cells. Mol Cell Endocrinol 424:1-11, 2016