Research
Kathleen Axen
Effects of Dietary Macronutrient Composition on Insulin Resistance
Even if a pattern of eating does not provide an excess of calories, the types and relative amounts of carbohydrate, fat, and protein consumed can lead to "abnormalities" in metabolism in liver, adipose tissue, and muscle. Some of these effects are due to changes in regulation of metabolic pathways by insulin. "Insulin Resistance" (IR) refers to any decrease in the effect of a given concentration of insulin; IR is an early event in the development of type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions.
We have been studying the effects of diets that are low in calories but have a high percentage of particular types of fats. Such diets alter the liver's metabolic response to insulin, as seen in the hormone's regulation of gene expression and blood glucose level.
Jorge Matias Caviglia
Obesity and Fatty Liver Research Lab
In our lab, we investigate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is characterized by accumulation of fat in the liver that can lead to cell death, inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and cancer.
NAFLD is strongly associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, and following the obesity epidemic, has become the most common liver disease.
We are studying the cellular signaling mechanisms that underlie the progression of NAFLD and the contribution of the gut microbiota.
We use mice that overeat, and when fed a Western-type diet, develop both obesity and progressive NADFL. We use transgenic and knock-out mice, dietary interventions, gut microbiota manipulations, and analyze changes in tissues and gut microbiota by measuring mRNA and protein expression by multiple techniques, including transcriptomics, targeted metagenomics, and histology.
Our objective is to better understand the progression of NAFLD and identify new ways to prevent and treat this disease.
Table setting with plate, fork, knife, and napkin
Melissa Fuster
Nutrition in context: culture, environment and policy
Eating is a daily and complex act, shaped by taste, economics, personal circumstances, and the environment. My research addresses how contextual factors guide individual eating behaviors and the policies implemented to affect such behaviors. Specific areas of work include: (1) Understanding of diverse experiences of dietary acculturation among Latin American communities; (2) Bridging lay and expert perceptions concerning nutrition and food security; (3) Examining food environments in ethnic communities and the policies designed to improve them. Supportive food environments are essential for healthy eating. Yet, in communities with high risk of cardiovascular disease and other diet-related conditions, food availability and access do not always facilitate healthful eating choices. This realization has led me to stir my research from my previous individual-focus to analyzing policy and environmental level factors affecting individual food choice—the current focus of my research.
- Faculty Profile with Recent Publications and Activities
- Research Assistant Volunteer (Part-Time / Unpaid)
Michele G. Greene
Physician-Patient Communication
Communication between physicians and patients during a medical encounter has a significant effect on patient outcomes, including satisfaction, adherence to therapeutic regimens and health status. With a focus on primary care and relationships between physicians and older patients, my colleagues and I have been studying the content and processes of communication and the language and behavior of interactants during medical visits. We examine the subjects discussed; who raises these subjects; the quality of information, questioning and support; and the effects of the presence of others (e.g., family members) on communication.
Motherhood is not easy. What this mom eats affects her pups in the long term.
Xinyin Jiang
One carbon metabolism and prenatal programming
Our lab is interested in the metabolism and functions of nutrients participating in one carbon metabolism, such as choline, folate, and vitamin B12. Our recent research shows that supplementation of choline during pregnancy prevents fetal overgrowth and excess adiposity in mice with gestational diabetes. Using various techniques such as epigenetic and metabolomic analyses and in collaboration with local hospitals, we are exploring the mechanisms by which prenatal exposure to one carbon nutrients “programs” cardio-metabolic disease development of offspring in rodent models and human patients.
Jerry Mirotznik
The Social Etiology of Disease and the Determinants of Health Behavior
Broadly speaking, my research has been concerned with understanding the impact of social and psychological variables on health status. I have approached this issue in two related but distinct ways. First, I have investigated how the social environment causes people to get sick in the first place, and in particular how stressful life events, such as the inter-institutional relocation of chronic care patients, impact mortality and morbidity. And second, I have investigated why certain individuals, once sick, engage in behaviors that will restore their health, while other individuals do not. In this context I’ve concentrated on developing and testing the utility of measures of the Health Belief Model for explaining such compliance behaviors as adherence to a post-MI rehabilitative exercise program and appointment-keeping for patients with lupus. As such, my research has focused on both the social etiology of disease as well as on the determinants of health behavior.
Diagram of social and behavioral determinants of health, syndemics and health disparities
Enrique Rodriguez Pouget
Social Behavioral Epidemiology Lab
We have been investigating social and behavioral determinants of health, syndemics and health disparities. Our overarching research areas are prevention of transmission of HIV and hepatitis C, and prevention of fatal drug overdose. We are currently focusing on two specific projects: one comparing trends in heroin and prescription opioid use over time by racial/ethnic group, and another attempting to understand how generational changes in social norms may be related to changes in drug use and risk of HIV infection and overdose.
View of two different growing conditions, soil based vs 'permaponics'
Roseanne Schnoll
Permaponics research
We are comparing two different growing conditions, soil based versus "permaponics" on growth and secondary metabolites of selected plants. Permaponics is a soil-less based system that combines the best features of both hydroponics and aquaponics to create a system that is both energy efficient and environmentally sound.
A silhouette of two martial arts practicioners
Raymond Weston
The Multideterminants of Mental and Physical Health in Communities of African Descent
The major thrust of Dr. Weston's research has been in the area of racial identity, specifically the impact of racial identity on mental and public health outcomes such as alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, cancer, coronary heart disease, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C virus, and serious and persistent mental illness. His funded research projects have included the use of computer-assisted instruction as a tool for the dissemination of health related information to communities of African descent. Critical components of the research program include the role of racial identity, as operationalized through Nigrescence Theory; and the use of partnerships with community-based institutions/organizations (e.g., the Black Church, substance abuse programs) to disseminate the health-related information.
Currently, Weston's research focuses on the role of physical activity, especially martial arts training as a tool for health promotion and disease prevention in communities of color.
