Metabolism & Physiology

Faculty in this research area study the biochemical processes that occur within a cell or organism and how these contribute to the normal function of cells, tissues and organs.
Assistant Professor (Health and Exercise Science)
Tissue specific effects of sleep and circadian rythymn disruption
Greg Amberg
Associate Professor (Biomedical Sciences)
ion channels in arterial smooth muscle and their impact on arterial function. Changes in ion channel behavior during pathophysiological conditions such as hypertension
John Belisle
Professor (Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology).
Mycobacterial physiology and genetics. Host metabolic signatures for diagnosis of Lyme disease.
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Corey Broeckling
Faculty Affiliate (College of Agriculture)
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Adam Chicco
Associate Professor (Biomedical Sciences)
Fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction in heart disease.
Karen Dobos
Professor (Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology)
Her lab primarily uses biochemical approaches to study the physiology of microbial diseases. While she and her team are most known for their work in biomarker discovery and systems biology for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, they also actively work and collaborate to address novel questions around pathogen inactivation, vector-mycobacteria intersections, and pathogen/vector cryopreservation.
Dean Crick
Professor (Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology)
Biochemistry and biogenesis of the cell wall and lipids of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Metabolomic studies of infected animals and bacilli.
Debbie C. Crans
Professor (Chemistry)
Biological chemistry; vanadium and transition metal chemistry relating to insulin mimetic effects; vanadium compounds with bone stimulating activities; enzyme mechanisms; phosphorus metabolism.
Franck Dayan
Professor (Agricultural Biology)
The traits imparting weediness (competition, cold and heat stress tolerance etc…) to plants, and how these amazing organisms evolve resistance to herbicides.
Santiago Di Pietro
Associate Professor (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Fundamental aspects of membrane protein transport.
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Chris Gentile
Associate Professor (Food Science & Human Nutrition)
The role of ER stress in obesity – related endothelial dysfunction

Tom LaRocca
Assistant Professor (Heath & Exercise Science)
Biological mechanisms of healthspan, including proteome, genome and RNA homeostasis, and their effects on organismal function and brain health.
Adam Heuberger
Associate Professor (Horticulture & Landscape Architecture)
Studies biochemical diversity in plants and foods. His technical expertise is in metabolomics and plant chemistry and he works with many students developing and refining experimental plans in this area.
Donald L. Mykles
Professor (Biology);
Regulation of protein turnover; calcium – dependent and ATP / ubiquitin – dependent proteinases; myofibrillar proteins.
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Christie Peebles
Associate Professor (Chemical and Biological Engineering)
Plant metabolic engineering to produce important pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Photoautotrophs for the production of bio-based chemicals and fuels.
Graham Peers
Associate Professor (Biology)
Photosynthetic Efficiency and Algal Ecophysiology
Rushika Perera
Associate Professor (Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology)
Viral Pathogenesis and Cellular Metabolism
Jessica Prenni
Associate Professor (Horticulture & Landscape Architecture)
Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics and Metabolomics
Kenneth Reardon
Professor (Chemical & Biological Engineering)
Proteomics, systems biology, metabolic engineering, and enzyme – based biosensors.
Elizabeth Ryan
Associate Professor (Environmental & Radiological Health Sciences)
Interactions between diet and cancer. Toxicology, immunology, oncology and nutrition.
Henry J. Thompson
Professor (Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Head of the Cancer Prevention Laboratory)
Biochemical and molecular approaches to cancer prevention; preclinical models and clinical investigations.
Charlene Van Buiten
Assistant Professor (Food Science & Human Nutrition)
Development of nutraceutical approaches for treating chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract; processing plant-based foods for optimization of bioactive profiles.
Tiffany Weir
Associate Professor (Food Science & Human Nutrition)
The role of microbes in ecosystem functioning, with ecosystems ranging from soils to processed food products to the human gut.
George Barisas
Professor Emeritus (Chemistry)
Optical analytical techniques to study motions and distributions of molecules on living cell surfaces
Michelle Foster
Associate Professor (Food Science and Human Nutrition)
Obesity – induced metabolic disorders.
Gregory Florant
Professor (Biology)
Mammalian physiology; lipid metabolism and energetics.
Karyn Hamilton
Associate Professor (Health & Exercise Science)
Mechanism(s) of exercise – and estrogen – induced protection of the heart and vascular endothelium against hypoxia – reoxygenation injury.
Matthew Hickey
Professor (Health & Exercise Science)
Insulin sensitivity and markers of both subclinical inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Post – receptor signaling events in human skeletal muscle (i.e., insulin signaling, translation initiation) in response to changes in diet and physical activity. Ethnic differences in risk for the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Diet, exercise, and nutrient partitioning.
Shane Kanatous
Associate Professor (Biology)
Molecular changes associated with hypoxia and therapeutic applications in the treatment of myopathies.
Ashok Prasad
Associate Professor (Chemical & Biological Engineering)
Genome – scale metabolic modeling of E. coli, cyanobacteria and algae.
Deb Roess
Professor Emerita (Biomedical Sciences)
Hormone receptors and reproductive function
BMS 500 Mammalian Physiology I
BMS 501 Mammalian Physiology II
BMS 631 Mechanisms of Hormone Action
BMS 632 Metabolic Endocrinology
BMS 640 Reproductive Physiology and Endocrinology
ANEQ 522 Animal Metabolism
BC 517 Metabolism
BZ 642 Plant Metabolism
FSHN 530 Principles of Nutrition Science & Metabolism
FSHN 540 Nutrigenomics and Advanced Lipid Metabolism
FSHN 650C Recent Developments in Human Nutrition: Genomic, Proteomics, and Metabolomics
HORT 579 Mass Spectrometry Omics-Methods and Analysis
BIOM 576 Quantitative Systems Physiology
MIP 630 Advances in Microbial Physiology
NB 750 Physiology of Ion Channels
Zeyad Arhouma (Crans Lab)
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Valerie Lindstrom (Prenni Lab)
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Kaitlin Doucette (Crans Lab)
GAANN Teaching Fellow 2016 – 19
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Kelly Hassell (Crans Lab)
GAANN Teaching Fellow 2016 – 18
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Nora Jean Nealon (PhD 2019 Ryan Lab) – DVM student at Colorado State University
Stephanie Morphet (PhD 2018 Belisle Lab) – Post – doctoral Researcher SiVEC Laboratories
Tymofiy Lutsiv (MS 2018, Thompson Lab) – PhD student Loyola University
Shea Moore-Farrell (MS 2018, Peebles Lab) – Data Configuration Specialist at Pure Market
Allison Werner (PhD 2018, Peebles Lab) – Post – doctoral researcher at NREL
Mike Caballero (PhD 2017, Peers Lab) – Data Scientist Hackensack Meridian Health
- Cell Signaling Pathways in Mammary Carcinoma Induced in Rats with Low versus High Inherent Aerobic Capacity. Lutsiv T, McGinley JN, Neil ES, Thompson HJ. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 20(6). pii: E1506.
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Decavanadate Inhibits Mycobacterial Growth More Potently Than Other Oxovanadates. Samart N, Arhouma Z, Kumar S, Murakami HA, Crick DC, Crans DC. Front Chem. 2018 6:519.
- A comprehensive time-course metabolite profiling of the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under diurnal light:dark cycles. Werner A, Broeckling CD, Prasad A, Peebles CAM. Plant J. 2019 99(2):379-388
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Human colon function ex vivo: Dependence on oxygen and sensitivity to antibiotic. Schwerdtfeger LA, Nealon NJ, Ryan EP, Tobet SA. PLoS One. 2019 14(5):e0217170
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Rice Bran Metabolome Contains Amino Acids, Vitamins & Cofactors, and Phytochemicals with Medicinal and Nutritional Properties. Zarei I, Brown DG, Nealon NJ, Ryan EP. Rice (N Y). 2017 10(1):24