Professor of Pediatrics and Cell Biology & Director, MCBL Group

Research Interests: Regulation of triacylglycerol and cholesterol metabolism

I. Triacylglycerol Hydrolase (TGH):

Hypothesis: TGH is involved in the mobilization of intracellular TG stores in the liver and adipose tissue and inhibition of this enzyme's activity will result in decreased plasma lipid levels.

Project involves: cell biology (localization and targeting, lipid droplet formation and turnover), biochemistry (active site, lipid binding, structure), molecular biology (generation and analysis of TGH transgenic and knock out mice), physiology (hormonal regulation).

II. Carboxylesterase Es-x:

Hypothesis: Es-x participates in intestinal and hepatic lipid metabolism.

Project involves: studies on the role of the enzyme in lipid metabolism in hepatocytes and in Es-x knock out mice.

III. Arylacetamide deacetylase (AADA):

Hypothesis: AADA participates in hepatic TG metabolism.

Project involves: cell biology of retention of AADA in the endoplasmic reticulum; studies on the role of the enzyme in lipid metabolism in hepatocytes transfected with AADA cDNA, and in AADA transgenic and knock out mice.

IV. Hepatic Cholesterol Efflux and Secretion:

Hypothesis: Depletion of hepatic cholesterol stores by efflux will result in decreased amount of cholesterol available for VLDL assembly.

Project involves: studying of cholesterol efflux and lipoprotein assembly in hepatocytes of various genetically modified mice and in the presence of inhibitors of lipid metabolism.