Research Projects
Environmental Toxins and Insulin Resistance
![](https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/dims4/default/1bcd75b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2667x2000+167+0/resize/200x150!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbrigham-young-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5c%2F70%2F173ac3d341d9875ce97316a29a57%2Falexander-popov-xbh-oglrfum-unsplash.jpg)
We live in a dirty world. While the majority of research into the origins of insulin resistance/diabetes has focused on the foods we eat, we increasingly recognize the role the air we breathe may play. We recently published that cigarette smoke causes insulin resistance/diabetes, and we now have evidence that diesel exhaust disrupts metabolic function.
Brown Fat
![](https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/dims4/default/72624c7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/212x159+1+0/resize/200x150!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbrigham-young-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fee%2Fdd%2F5dbf54594361b943a00c20ecfbb9%2Fbrownfat.jpg)
All people have areas of fat tissue known as “brown fat”—these are pockets of fat that are enriched with mitochondria and are highly metabolically active. By stimulating brown fat with a specific drug, we have found that rodents are protected against diet-induced weight gain and diabetes. We are currently pursuing the relevance and feasibility of such a treatment in humans. Positive results will yield a highly useful therapy.
Insulin Resistance and Heart Disease
![](https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/dims4/default/dcf67c0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/212x159+1+0/resize/200x150!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbrigham-young-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2Fd4%2F72348c984687a9a368089e7823f6%2Fheart.jpg)
Heart disease is the most lethal disease in the United States and is the leading cause of death among people with insulin resistance/diabetes. We have recently found that too much insulin alone, such as that seen with insulin resistance/diabetes, disrupts mitochondrial function in heart cells and contributes to heart failure. We are actively identifying interventions to protect the heart in such conditions.
Type 3 Diabetes
![](https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/dims4/default/cb958eb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/235x176+0+0/resize/200x150!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbrigham-young-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F95%2F94%2F8e5c6f794de8b74295fcf08e017f%2Fbrain.jpg)
Alzheimer disease is so intimately connected with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes that it is referred to as a type of diabetes itself. We are exploring the role of insulin in directly increasing brain plaque formation and altering brain mitochondrial function.