UVA School of Medicine

Research in Metabolism at UVA focuses on the study of all chemical reactions in an organism and how dysregultation of these processes contributes to disease.These processes are tightly regulated under normal conditions to maintain homeostasis and ensure appropriate energy intake and fuel utilization.  Dysregulation of one or more fundamental metabolic processes causes alterations in glucose or lipid metabolism and transport, mitochondrial function, and cell signaling cascades that lead to chronic disease states such as obesity, diabetes, inflammation, and atherosclerosis.

The metabolism group at UVA actively investigates how and why these defects occur, with the ultimate goal of improving both preventative therapy and treatment.  The diverse expertise of the metabolism group provides training opportunities that utilize molecular and cellular biology in the context of whole animal physiology, drug discovery, and translational medicine.

Students in the metabolism group are supported by several institutional training grants including: Pharmacological Sciences Training Grant; Cell & Molecular Biology Training Grant; Neuroscience Training Program; and Biotechnology Training Program.