Grant: Netherlands-Canada Type 2 Diabetes Consortium - Travel Award - General

My research has been focused on how specific brain regions regulate blood sugar level as well as other functions of the body such as appetite and body weight control. I described that the gene called "POMC" is present in some nerve cells in the brain and the level of POMC is reduced in several animal models of obesity and type 2 diabetes. I have then created a unique experimental mouse model with increased POMC level in the brain. Elevated POMC level almost completely corrected abnormally elevated blood sugar level in the mouse model of type 2 diabetes. These findings contributed to critical evidence leading to our current understanding of the importance of this brain system in the regulation of blood sugar level. Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. My current research project focuses on the role of environmental factors in the regulation of brain function. In laboratory experiments, mice are usually maintained in small cages with very limited environmental stimuli. Environmental enrichment (giving animals toys, exercise, companions, etc.) is the experimental protocol that facilitates the expression of species-specific behaviors and promotes psychological well-being and overall health of the animals. Interestingly, research has shown that environmental enrichment improves disease conditions such as type 2 diabetes in animal experiments. I have recently found that mice maintained under the enrichment condition showed enhanced response of brain cells to signals that convey body's energy status (for example, blood sugar level). These findings open up new avenues towards understanding how environmental factors affect the brain mechanism that controls blood sugar level, thereby establishing interventions that can prevent or reverse type 2 diabetes. To achieve this goal, I plan to form a joint research program on type 2 diabetes with Dutch researchers.