Matthew Whim, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
Education & Affiliations
Biography
Dr. Whim received his PhD in neuroscience from the University of Cambridge, UK. He studied the role of neuropeptide transmitters in invertebrate and vertebrate model systems as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, Yale University and University College London. Before moving to LSU in 2009, Dr. Whim was an Assistant Professor at Penn State University. As a member of the Department of Cell biology and Anatomy at LSU, Dr. Whim is interested in the autonomic nervous system and its role in preventing hypoglycemia. He has authored over 30 publications dealing with the role of peptide neurotransmitters. He is the principal investigator of research grants from the National Institutes of Health.
LSUHSC: http://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/cell_biology/faculty_detail.aspx?name=whim_matthew
Research
Ongoing research projects related to diabetes and obesity
In response to a marked fall in blood glucose levels (for example through insulin injection or fasting), a homeostatic feedback loop restores euglycemia. An important component of this response involves the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Hypoglycemia evokes the release of the hormone epinephrine from neuroendocrine cells in the adrenal medulla. This hormone acts on the liver to increase glucose production and on the pancreas to inhibit insulin secretion: both actions help to restore euglycemia. My lab is investigating the signaling mechanisms that underlie the release of epinephrine. In this work we use a variety of experimental approaches including slice electrophysiology, optogenetics and in vivo measurements of circulating hormones and metabolites. We would like to understand how the adrenal response to hypoglycemia is initiated, how it is regulated and why it sometimes fails. The importance of the adrenal contribution to metabolic regulation is exemplified by the clinical problems experienced by type I and II diabetics in whom the response is markedly deficient.
Ongoing projects include:
- Long-lasting changes in adrenal function - determining the role of neuropeptide Y in regulating epinephrine release during hypoglycemia.
- Activity-dependent plasticity in adrenal function - quantifying the adrenal contribution to hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure.
- Regulation of epinephrine release by circulating hormones - modulation of epinephrine release by ketone bodies.
Contributions
View Dr. Whim's publications on PubMed
Control of glucose homeostasis by the autonomic nervous system
