Project 172816
Metabolic regulation by a network centered on a conserved Mediator subunit
Metabolic regulation by a network centered on a conserved Mediator subunit
Project Information
| Study Type: | Unclear |
| Research Theme: | Biomedical |
Institution & Funding
| Principal Investigator(s): | Taubert, Stefan |
| Institution: | University of British Columbia |
| CIHR Institute: | Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes |
| Program: | |
| Peer Review Committee: | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology - B |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
| Term: | 5 yrs 0 mth |
Abstract Summary
Like all organisms, humans must adapt to changing conditions. Failure to do so can cause health problems; for example, inappropriate responses to food intake can cause diabetes and obesity, which are global health concerns today. These metabolic diseases are caused by a myriad of genetic and environmental factors. Accordingly, the pathways that assure normal metabolism are very complex. Fortunately, such mechanisms are conserved in lower animals to a significant extent. Thus, I want to exploit the genetically tractable roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans to discover and characterize new regulators that control lipid biology and the response to nutrition-related stresses. I will focus on a protein, called MDT-15, which plays a key role in the regulation of these processes. Importantly, this protein has a relative in humans, so I can potentially learn about human metabolic regulation by studying a model organism. In summary, I shall identify and characterize new genes and pathways that contribute to human (metabolic) disease. This work will add significantly to our knowledgebase of pathways regulating metabolism, and - in the long term - may aid the development of new preventative and/or therapeutic strategies.
No special research characteristics identified
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