Thomas J. Baranski, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Developmental Biology, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research | Co-Director, WU Transgender Center
- Phone: 314-747-3997
- Fax: 314-362-8770
- Email: baranski@nospam.wustl.edu
Research Interest
Metabolic Regulation and Obesity
Signal Transduction/Hormone Action
Category(ies) of Research
Translational
Descriptor of Research
Our laboratory studies signal transduction by G protein-coupled receptors, a superfamily of heptahelical transmembrane proteins. The receptors act as elegantly engineered switches, receiving signals involved in many physiologic processes – blood pressure regulation, glucose homeostasis, sight and smell – to turn on specific signaling cascades within cells. We use engineered yeast to apply the power of genetics to the study of signaling by human G protein-coupled receptors. Insights into how ligands activate receptors will aid in drug design and greatly impact medicine; more than half of currently prescribed pharmaceuticals target G protein-coupled receptors. A new project in the lab involves a model system of glucose toxicity in the simple model organism Drosophila melanogaster. We have performed screens in flies to identify genes that contribute to the effects of a high glucose diet on developing larvae. On high sugar diets, the flies develop phenotypes similar to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. We are using this model to understand the pathogenesis of diet-induced diabetes.
Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research