A Vitamin as a New Way to Control the Diabetes and Obesity “Epidemic” at Aberdeen University on FindAPhD.com

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Prof P McCaffery No more applications being accepted Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

About the Project

Vitamin A is an essential nutrient obtained from the diet and acts through its metabolite retinoic acid. The first discovery of an association between retinoic acid and diabetes was back in 1986 (1) and now there are over 400 papers on the subject. A similar search on retinoic acid and obesity finds over 200 papers, the first making the link of retinoic acid controlling fat cell differentiation (2). Vitamin A and retinoic acid are now proposed as treatments for diabetes and obesity (3). What is the way in which they act however?

Our group is one of the world-leaders in understanding the function of retinoic acid in the brain (4). We hypothesise that the hypothalamus is a key to the influence of vitamin A/retinoic acid on obesity and diabetes. The hypothalamus is the control centre in the brain of balance in the body, both of body weight and as part of the system to control glucose levels in the blood. Our results have shown that vitamin A has a key set of functions in the hypothalamus (5) and the project will study, the various physiological and molecular roles of vitamin A, and retinoic acid, in the hypothalamus.

Funding Notes

This project is part of a competition funded by the Elphinstone Scholarship Scheme. Successful applicants will be awarded full tuition fees (UK/EU/International) for the duration of a three year PhD programme. Please note that this award does not include a stipend.

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-study/elphinstone-phd-scholarships-266.php#life-sciences-and-medicine

This award is available to high-achieving students. Candidates should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum of a First Class Honours degree in a relevant subject. Applicants with a minimum of a 2.1 Honours degree may be considered provided they have a Distinction at Masters level.

References

(1) Chertow BS, Baranetsky NG, Sivitz WI, Meda P, Webb MD, Shih JC. Cellular mechanisms of insulin release. Effects of retinoids on rat islet cell-to-cell adhesion, reaggregation, and insulin release. Diabetes. 1983 Jun;32(6):568-74.

(2) Kamei Y1, Kawada T, Mizukami J, Sugimoto E. The prevention of adipose differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells caused by retinoic acid is elicited through retinoic acid receptor alpha. Life Sci. 1994;55(16):PL307-12.

(3) Trasino SE, Gudas LJ. Vitamin A: a missing link in diabetes? Diabetes Manag (Lond). 2015;5(5):359-367.

(4) Shearer KD, Stoney PN, Morgan PJ, McCaffery PJ. A vitamin for the brain. Trends Neurosci. 2012;35:733-41.

(5) Shearer KD, Goodman TH, Ross AW, Reilly L, Morgan PJ, McCaffery PJ. Photoperiodic regulation of retinoic acid signaling in the hypothalamus. J Neurochem. 2010;112:246-57.

Where will I study?

Aberdeen University

The University of Aberdeen is the fifth oldest university in the UK and boasts over 500 years of research and teaching excellence.

A Vitamin as a New Way to Control the Diabetes and Obesity “Epidemic”

Aberdeen University School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition