NUIP scientists and research scholars use a broad array of techniques to study model organisms and clinical populations, with an eye towards understanding mechanistically how diet, energy expenditure, and other environmental factors influence organ systems. Our research bridges virtually all of the sciences which study human biology (e.g. anatomy, biochemistry, epidemiology, genetics, etc.) and our scientists and clinicians maintain active engagement with other programs within University of Utah Health. We endeavor to translate new research findings into clinical procedures and community outreach programs that improve quality of life.

Chaurasia and Colleagues Ask the Question “How Does a Fat Cell Know its Fat?"

Adipocytes that comprise fat tissue are remarkably dynamic cells that act as  “first responders” to changes in the nutritional environment. They have an incredible capacity to store energy in the form of triglyceride in a lipid droplet. For example, a 70kg person stores 1,600 kcal of energy in the form of glycogen, 24,000 kcal in the form of protein, and 135,000 kcal in the form of triglyceride! Moreover, adipocytes have several other unique characteristics that define them as centers for sensing and communicating nutritional information. Assistant Professor Bhagirath Chaurasia identified an important new way that the adipocyte gauges its energetic status.

As fat molecules enter the adipocyte, those that aren’t stored in the form of triglycerides can condense with products of protein metabolism to produce a class of lipids called ceramides. Dr. Chaurasia and colleagues found that ceramides accumulate in adipose tissue from obese diabetic subjects. Blocking their production in mice substantially altered the characteristics of the tissue, ultimately changing the way the animal consumed energy. Remarkably, the intervention led to substantial health improvements including the clearance of fat from the liver and amelioration of insulin resistance. The work provides support for ceramide reduction as a therapeutic strategy for ameliorating the progression of diabetes and metabolic disease.

The Boudina Lab Uncovers a Beneficial Role for Reactive Oxygen Species in the Adipocyte

Obesity and aging lead to commensurate elevations in reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a consequence of normal metabolism. When ROS accumulate in excess of a tissue’s antioxidant capabilities, they can elicit tissue damage. Numerous clinical trials investigating the impact of antioxidants on metabolic pathologies are underway, but early results have been largely disappointing.

The Boudina laboratory sought to determine the consequences of ROS in fat cells of mice. They destroyed the first line of defense against ROS in mitochondria by deleting an enzyme called manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), which is responsible for buffering harmful ROS species (i.e. superoxides). They found that superoxides actually elicit protective responses that enhance the tissue’s ability to burn calories and increase energy expenditure

The work was published in the September edition of the journal Diabetes. An image from the article, entitled "Adipocyte-Specific Deletion of Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Protects From Diet-Induced Obesity Through Increased Mitochondrial Uncoupling and Biogenesis," was featured on the cover. The image depicts a transmission electron micrograph of mitochondria in inguinal fat tissue of mice lacking MnSOD.  To read the full article, click here.

Upon his arrival in Utah in 2007, Dr. Russ Richardson, the Marjorie Rosenblatt Goodman and Jack Goodman Family Professor of Geriatrics in Internal Medicine, Professor of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, and the Associate Director of Research for the Salt Lake City Geriatrics, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), founded the Utah Vascular Research Laboratory (UVRL). The UVRL is a highly collegial and collaborative environment that fosters the research of like-minded investigators sharing a common interest in vascular and metabolic control with an emphasis on age-related disease and the impact on mobility. When founding the UVRL, Dr. Richardson’s vision was heavily influenced by his experience with a team science ethos: “The belief that a collaborative research effort can accelerate the acquisition of knowledge more effectively than a simple aggregate of research projects that have no interaction or thematic integration”. This is exactly how the UVRL operates, with shared facilities, shared personnel, shared resources, and, most importantly, shared ideas.

The UVRL, now in its 10th year, is a beacon of success at the University of Utah. 2017-2018 was another exemplary year that included the acquisition of grants from the NIH, the US Department of Veteran’s Affairs, the American Heart Association, and numerous private foundations and the publication of 29 high quality peer-reviewed research papers. Beyond Dr. Richardson, 5 UVRL faculty have adjunct appointments in NUIP and a large proportion of NUIP’s PhD students conduct their thesis research in the UVRL under their mentorship.

• Boudina – AHA Grant-in-Aid; Washington University Diabetes Research Center Grant
  
• Chaurasia – UU Diabetes and Metabolism Center Grant; UU Vice President of Research Funding Incentive Seed Grant
  
• Richardson – VA Merit Grant
  
• Summers – AHA Grant-in-Aid
  
• Symons – AHA Grant-in-Aid; Research Instrumentation Fund Grant (to purchase a shared pressure myograph); AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship (awarded to Seul Ki)  

Kristine Jordan, Thunder Jalili, and Janet Lindsley Bring Team-Based Learning to Utah

Drs.  Kristine Jordan (Associate Professor, NUIP), Thunder Jalili (Associate Professor, NUIP) and Janet Lindsley (Associate Professor in Biochemistry; Adjunct Associate Professor in NUIP) teamed with colleagues from the School of Medicine and the College of Pharmacy to develop a workshop introducing “Team-Based Learning.” Dr. Jordan was the principal investigator of the $5,546 University Teaching Grant, with additional support from the Academy of Health Science Educators. The workshop, held on April 3rd, 2017, introduced a form of classroom instruction that encourages student engagement and collaboration. The participants included over 80 faculty and graduate students. The conference was facilitated by Boyd Richards, PhD from the University of Utah and Edward McKee, PhD from Central Michigan University. 

In 2017-2018, NUIP faculty will start integrating Team-Based Learning into the Clinical Assessment and Research Methods Laboratory, Medical Nutrition Therapy I, and Macronutrient Metabolism. This team-based educational modality will be enhanced with a new interdisciplinary team approach to the Focused Area of Study projects. Through these approaches, students will learn the power of team-based approaches to solve complex clinical problems and develop new clinical and community programs.

• NUIP Instructor Staci Nix-McIntosh, authored and published Williams' Basic Nutrition and Diet Therapy, 15th edition. Two of our faculty members, Kary Woodruff and Theresa Dvorak, also wrote chapters for the textbook.
• Dr. Stacie Wing-Gaia wrote a chapter about Nutrition, Malnutrition, and Starvation in the wilderness in Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine textbook. 
• Faculty member Kary Woodruff published her 2nd textbook: Sports Nutrition Strategies for Success: A Practical Guide to Improving Performance Through Nutrition.
• Staci Nix-McIntosh authored book chapters in Essentials for Nursing Practice, 9th edition and Health Promotion Throughout the Lifespan, 9th edition. These textbooks will publish in the latter part of 2017.