51cg

Research Overview

My research interests focus on whole animal energetics and physiology. This framework provides the common theme that links my interests in the role of energy use during both reproduction and the development of obesity.

Current Research

My doctoral work on the energetics of hedgehogs (Jagiellonian University, Poland) and postdoctoral work on reproduction in laboratory mice (51cg, Scotland) and deer mice (University of California, Riverside, USA) have resulted in a novel hypothesis that the limits to sustained energy intake at peak lactation are imposed by the capacity of the animal to dissipate body heat. This hypothesis is currently under further investigation.

My obesity related work focuses on the effects of photoperiod on body mass, food intake, body composition, energy balance and hypothalamic gene expression in the field vole, which provides a new animal model for the investigation of seasonal adiposity at both organism and molecular levels. The major finding of this project is that the photoperiod-induced increase in body mass is associated with the up-regulation of the suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS3). This appears to act as a desensitisation mechanism that allows animals to ignore elevated leptin levels generated by increased adiposity, leading to an accumulation of body fat without counter-regulatory mechanisms.