Grant: Project Grant

Insulin is an amazing Canadian discovery and insulin has saved the lives of millions of diabetics. Insulin is a very important hormone that is required to regulate blood glucose levels. But is insulin a double-edged sword? On the one hand, lowering the incidence of diabetes, while on the other hand contributing to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease has been called type III diabetes or "diabetes of the brain". If we are to reduced or treat these diseases we need to understand the precise molecular mechanisms of insulin and insulin-like hormones in diseases. We use a tiny worm called C. elegans as a model organism to study how Insulin-like signaling affects the worm's development and provide molecular mechanisms for this observation. We identify important genes that regulate insulin signaling and potential drugs that could be used for treatment of insulin related diseases. Why worms? Many of the genes that control this tiny worm's nervous system are also found in humans and function in an identical manner. In fact, the human genes can replace the worm genes to restore function. Therefore, the knowledge gained from our research will certainly help us understand the molecular mechanisms during abnormal insulin signaling in humans. My lab will provide a valuable resource for students who want to pursue graduate work in molecular genetics. Currently, my research on C. elegans presents one of the few genetic models for understanding how the Insulin-like hormones function in a living animal.