Lucie Desmoulins, PhD
Research Instructor
Education & Affiliations
Biography
My long-term research interest is investigating the neural mechanisms underlying the central regulation of energy metabolism by the autonomic nervous system. Through my academic training and research experience, I have an excellent background in neuronal mechanisms regulating glucose homeostasis. As a graduate student, I studied hypothalamic glucose sensing and its alteration in diet-induced obese rats, and I developed my technical skills regarding brain surgeries and in vivo determination of metabolic parameters. I worked extensively with the hypothalamus, developing and deepening my knowledge of the anatomy of hypothalamic subnuclei and their specific neuronal populations.
Areas of Expertise
Research
Our research interest is to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the central regulation of energy metabolism by the autonomic nervous system. Our current work focuses on pre-sympathetic neurons in the hypothalamus and their involvement in the sympathetic overactivity associated with metabolic disorders in a mouse model. The objective is to reduce the impact of cardiometabolic complications associated with the progression of metabolic diseases. Our research techniques include the use of viral tracing, in vivo modulation of neuronal activity, metabolic phenotyping, and histological processing of brain tissues.
Contributions
PubMed listing for Lucie Desmoulins, PhD