Carol A. Witczak, PhD

The research interests of the Witczak laboratory are focused on understanding the molecular and cellular factors that regulate skeletal muscle metabolism during both physiological and pathological conditions, such as exercise, type 2 diabetes, muscle wasting and menopause.  We are interested in determining how genetic, nutritional and environmental factors coordinately regulate skeletal muscle substrate uptake and utilization, resulting in differential manifestations of tissue function in both pre-clinical animal models and clinical patient populations.  Our overall goal is to identify novel proteins responsible for the regulation of key metabolic processes, such as glucose uptake and protein synthesis, and then utilize that knowledge towards the development of innovative therapies for chronic human disease states such as type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting.