Dates of Funding: 2021-2023
I am a Senior Instructor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes and the Director of the NORC Lipidomics Core Laboratory at CU-AMC. The overall objective of my research is to expand our knowledge of lipid-induced insulin resistance and reveal potential novel lipid targets to modify muscle insulin sensitivity. My NORC pilot project focuses on the role of oxidized lipids in insulin resistance. The first goal of this proposal is to explore the role of oxidized lipids in the accumulation of sarcolemmal ceramides and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. The second goal is to quantify oxidized lipid levels in plasma of endurance trained athletes, sedentary lean controls, and individuals with obesity and/or T2D by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We anticipate that these outcomes will provide clinical significance by identifying signaling pathways and mechanisms of accumulation of localized ceramides which can ultimately be targeted for the prevention and treatment of T2D.