Neurobiology of Nutrition Laboratory

News & Announcements

Harsh Shah is the first author of an original research article published in Nature - Nutrition & Diabetes in 2024, “BCAAs acutely drive glucose dysregulation and insulin resistance: Role of AgRP neurons". Congratulations!
Dr. Andrew Shin published a review article in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism in 2024, "Obesity-induced tissue alterations resist weight loss: A mechanistic review".
Dr. Andrew Shin received a Cross-Disciplinary Research Excellence Award in 2024 for his proposal to study "Transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation to treat obesity" with Dr. Jingfei Liu from Mechanical Engineering.
Fereshteh Dehghani presented her poster on "Short-term exposure to BCAAs increases hedonics for sucrose" at 23rd TTU Graduate Research Poster Competition in April 2024.
Zobayda Haque presented her poster on "Circulating BCAAs are associated with cognitive decline and metabolic dysregulation in APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease" at 23rd TTU Graduate Research Poster Competition in April 2024.
Harsh Shah is the first author of an original research article published in Nutrients in 2023, “Reduction of plasma BCAAs following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is mediated by FGF21”. Congratulations!
Dr. Andrew Shin gave an invited seminar at the Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Seoul National University, South Korea, on "Acute effects of BCAAs on glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity" in December 2022.
Dr. Andrew Shin gave an invited seminar at the Department of Medicine, Seoul National University, South Korea, on "A novel metabolic approach to treat Alzheimer's disease" in December 2022.

Overview

We are interested in how the brain is able to integrate nutrient-related signals from various tissues in the body to control body weight and appetite, as well as nutrient metabolism (glucose, amino acids, lipids) in the context of obesity and diabetes. Related to this, we also study how Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), a type of bariatric surgery considered to be one of the most effective treatments for obesity/diabetes, successfully lowers body weight and improves metabolic outcomes. How RYGB surgery rewires both "homeostatic" and "hedonic/reward" systems to defend the new lower body weight is a very interesting topic. We are also interested in parsing out the relationship between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and in identifying novel biomarkers and treatments for AD.