Laura Listenberger – Assistant Professor
Excess lipid accumulation in obese and overweight individuals contributes to serious medical conditions including heart disease, type II diabetes, and stroke. Surplus lipid is stored inside cells in structures called lipid droplets. Despite their ubiquitous presence in mammalian cells, and their obvious importance in obesity-related disorders, surprisingly little is known about lipid droplet synthesis and degradation. My laboratory explores mechanisms of cellular lipid storage by studying the functions of proteins that associate specifically with lipid droplets. Our research utilizes a variety of techniques in biochemistry and cell biology.
Student Researchers:
Greta Bauer
Michelle Logsdon
Alison Seline
Arthur Sletten
Previous student who have worked on this also include:
Ben Binder
Shahid Jaffer
Cary Schlick