Researchers study nutrient storage and obesity

Dave Bridges, PhD, and his team of researchers are studying the physiology of obesity, particularly how nutrient storage can contribute to obesity. Using mice and fruit fly models, his lab studies the mechanisms that cause obesity and pathway interventions that can alleviate obesity and associated diseases.

Bridges has a joint appointment with the Department of Pediatrics and Physiology. He arrived in May from the University of Michigan, where he studied insulin function. He said he was attracted to Memphis because of the opportunity to build an obesity research center and because of the focus the community has on childhood obesity. He will work closely with Joan Han, MD, the newly named director of the Health Lifestyles Clinic and Metabolic Research Center. Han studies the genetic determinants of obesity.