Our division conducts cutting-edge investigations in several general areas, including adrenal, diabetes, obesity, pituitary, endocrine hypertension and thyroid diseases. Studies are conducted at the molecular, cellular and physiological levels, using a wide range of model systems.
Research includes ongoing studies which involve the analysis of the steroidogenic factor-1 transcription factor, the homozygous acd mutant gene causing adrenal dysgenesis, conditionally-dependent adrenal carcinoma that develops in mice lacking inhibin, the behavior of a variety of human adrenocortical carcinoma cell lines and the susceptibility of such cells to novel anti-tumor agents, as well as clinical studies of syndromes of steroid excess.
Current studies range broadly from pancreatic beta cell biology, pancreatic endocrine progenitor (stem) cell differentiation, selenoproteins and oxidative stress, lipid storage and lipid metabolism, insulin resistance in aging, outcomes of critically ill hyperglycemic patients, cost and efficacy analyses in the treatments of diabetes, insulin-stimulated glucose transport into tissues, and diabetic complications such as neuropathy.
Research involves studies of growth hormone secretion, sex steroid regulation of growth hormone secretion, and optimizing treatments of acromegaly.
Studies range from patient-based analyses of relationships between adiposity and hypertension, roles of fat in steroid hormone metabolism, as well as animal model studies to analyze the roles of G-protein mediated signaling and PPAR nuclear receptor activation in lipid and glucose metabolism.
Research includes studies on thyroid cancer, thyroid hormone biosynthesis defects, thyroid hormone receptors and their actions on target tissues, and the role of retinoids in development and cellular differentiation.
