|
Profile - Silvana Constantinescu
Silvana Constantinescu
Contact Information
E-mail: sconstan@usc.edu
Phone:
(213) 740-8916
Mail Code: 0371
Started at USC: Fall 2005
Education:
2005 – present
Graduate Student, Integrative & Evolutionary Biology
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
2001 – 2005
M.A., Biological Sciences
Area of Research: Genetics and Molecular Biology
Southern Methodist University, Dallas
2000 – 2001
M.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thesis: "The Enzymes involved in Oxidative Stress"
University of Bucharest, Romania
1996 – 2000
B.S., Biochemistry
University of Bucharest, Romania
Faculty Advisor(s):
Dr. Lorraine Turcotte, Kinesiology
Research Topics: fat metabolism, insulin signaling pathway
Research Description:
As a graduate student at USC in the IEB program, I am pursuing a doctoral degree under the careful supervision of Dr Loraine Turcotte. The focus of our research is on aspects of skeletal muscle related to exercise, with a particular emphasis on fat metabolism. We are interested in studying the mechanisms and factors that regulate the utilization of fatty acids in muscle. My research project is focused on understanding the insulin signaling pathway using L6 skeletal muscle cells as a model system.
Research Abstract:
Without a doubt, physical activity can be considered as an example of an environmental pressure that helped shape the human genotype and phenotype. Conversely, lack of exercise has led to an increased prevalence of obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance. In these modern days, many people are overweight and spend very little time exercising and this leads to a reduction in insulin sensitivity. Fatty acids (FA) are an important source of energy intake for skeletal muscle. Scientists have shown that exercise can improve insulin sensitivity and because insulin plays a major role in the regulation of muscle metabolism by enhancing glucose uptake and FA uptake and decreasing FA oxidation, it is critical to understand the mechanisms that regulate insulin-mediated FA metabolism in muscle. In our lab, we study the effects of energy oversupply in the form of high FA availability on insulin-stimulated FA uptake and oxidation. More specifically, my interest lies with the role of inflammation in the development of insulin resistance with perturbations in energy homeostasis. It is important to decipher the role of the inflammatory cascades in this scenario because inflammatory cascades are evolutionarily conserved. Thus, information garnered from our experiments will have significant impact not only for basic research but also for possible applications to evolution. In order to understand the mechanisms by which a high FA load can affect insulin-stimulated FA uptake and FA oxidation, I will inhibit pharmacologically and genetically (using siRNA technology) different intermediates of the insulin signaling pathway and of the inflammatory cascade involved in the development of insulin resistance. Technical expertise with siRNA was garnered via interdisciplinary work with research scientists in another IEB lab (Dr Valter Longo).
Undergraduate Student Volunteers:
My work is complemented by the help of some of the most valuable undergraduate students from USC. One of them is Yuree Nam who with the help of multiple research awards (Provost Undergraduate Research, USC College SOAR Award, and USC College Dean Joan Research Scholarship) has been able to work in our lab for several years.
CV: Click to view