The Committee on Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition - A Welcome from the Chairmen

A Current Resurgence in Metabolic Research

Thank you for taking a look at what the Committee for Molecular Metabolism & Nutrition (CMMN). This is a dynamically growing and energetic graduate student program – where the faculty are conducting cutting edge research related to metabolism and disease. This is a rather unique program, one of the few in United States, focused on metabolism and metabolic diseases such as Diabetes, Obesity, Sleep apnea, Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease etc. So if you are interested in entering graduate school and intrigued about state of the art metabolic research, then the CMMN at the University of Chicago is something to seriously consider.

Let me first get some misconceptions out of the way. Metabolism and nutrition, to some, might seem a dated subject area and that all that is needed to be known is known already. This couldn’t be further from the truth, especially considering the current epidemics in obesity and diabetes, the increase in gastrointestinal and emergence of new metabolic syndromes. Metabolism and nutrition are highly relevant and important areas of biomedical research today. There is still much to be known. Metabolism and nutritional research may also be thought of by some to be rather pedantic and uninspiring. Totally wrong! Indeed, applying modern day technologies and molecular approaches to metabolism is one the hottest areas of biological research today. There are still many relevant questions to be answered in understanding metabolism at the molecular level today. Please refer to the ‘Lab Tour’ to gain some further insight into the sorts of questions being asked and the kind of research being conducted to answer these at the University of Chicago.

The area of metabolic research has been, and still is, a wealth of discovery. In general, it has a very credible history, arguably awarded the Noble prize in the category of Physiology or Medicine no less than 25 times - from Pavlov’s work on the physiology of the digestive system in 1904 to Marshall’s and Warren’s award in 2005 for Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. If one takes the example of the just the anabolic insulin hormone– it alone has been awarded the Noble prize 4 times (1923 - for the discovery of insulin, 1958 – insulin was the first protein to have its amino acid sequenced, 1977 - for the radioimmunoassay used to measure insulin, 1980 – insulin was the first gene sequenced). Research in metabolism has been setting the pace in inventing new technologies and driving them forward for good use for over a century. This, in turn, has influenced many other fields or biomedical research that have taken hold of techniques and technologies first used to study metabolism. Metabolic research also has a noteworthy and prestigious history at the University of Chicago, especially when associated to diabetes and obesity research.

The relevance of metabolic research to metabolic disease, such as diabetes and obesity, is obvious. This is an immensely intriguing and exciting area of research.  Changing one element in a metabolic pathway can have dramatic consequences for a component of metabolism elsewhere and general metabolic homeostasis. Metabolic research also has a strong translational component to it too, so it makes a difference. For example, research into the regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis (incidentally initiated by Konrad Bloch at the University of Chicago) led to the generation of the ‘statin class’ drugs used effectively today to lower blood cholesterol levels. Changes in metabolism have wide reaching implications for many diseases. Cancer risk is increased in obesity and certain cancers can adversely affect metabolism. Immunology and inflammatory responses are key to some digestive diseases and the pathogenesis of type-1 and -2 diabetes.