Sacramento, California, United States
The UC Davis Center for Alimentary and Metabolic Science (CAMS) is home to a dynamic and collaborative group of basic scientists and clinical colleagues who discover how nutrition, metabolism, gut microbes and endocrine systems interconnect to impact health, function, and obesity-associated conditions. Embedded in one of the nation's top surgery departments, the CAMS aims to serve as a research and training asset to the School of Medicine and the UC Davis campus writ large. My personal laboratory investigates the etiology and prevention of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, determines how specific foods and food components modify these parameters, and searches for molecular biomarkers reflective of diet and a healthy or disordered metabolism. We identify xenometabolites derived from gut microbes or foods, as well as one's own metabolites, that reflect diet patterns, poor blood sugar control and microbe-host interactions. In addition, we are interested in muscle processes that regulate fat metabolism, muscle function and health, and intersections between metabolism and inflammation.