About
The Center for Hypothalamic Research was established in 2006 to bring together scientists interested in understanding the mechanisms by which the hypothalamus regulates eating, body weight, blood glucose, and related metabolic processes.
The Center is unique among academic institutions in that it is the only one with a primary focus on the hypothalamus. By studying the hypothalamus plus interconnected brain regions, peripheral organ systems, and hormonal networks along the gut-brain axis, we hope to better understand the pathogenesis of obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic/mood disorders.
The Center’s principal investigators – Elmquist, Berglund, Gautron, Liu, Repa, Williams, and Zigman – are highly collaborative, working together on several Divisional projects as well as with other investigators on campus and worldwide. The principal investigators are active in various capacities on several national and international scientific organizations and editorial/review panels. They also are committed to the UT Southwestern community by participating in community outreach efforts, serving on various institutional committees, and particularly through their devotion to graduate student and medical student education and training.
The many research interests of the Center include:
Diet-induced obesity
Genetic forms of obesity and Diabetes
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
Eating disorders
Mood disorders
Fatty and alcoholic liver disease exercise
Body temperature regulation
Caloric restriction
Brain development
Hypoglycemia
Hearing
Islet function
Autonomic nervous system
Cachexia/anorexia
Investigative tools and techniques used in the Center include traditional and state-of-the-art approaches:
Crispr-Cas9
Transgenic and conditional knock-in/knock-out mouse and Drosophila model systems
Optogenetics
Chemogenetics
Electrophysiology
Glucose-insulin clamps
Mouse metabolic phenotyping
RNAseq, ChipSeq, single cell sequencing
Tissue clearing
Mouse behavioral testing
optogenetics
metabolic chambers
treadmills
Graduate student and postdoctoral positions are available throughout the Center. Please contact the Center’s principal investigators for details.
$10M NIH grant funds study of brain’s link to metabolism, fitness. Read More
Exercise Program Project Grant
We have assembled a multidisciplinary team of investigators to investigate how the brain and key peripheral metabolic signals regulate feeding and glucose homeostasis following exercise. In particular, we have developed a program focused on using unique, genetic mouse models to understand why exercise training improves multiple metabolic parameters including insulin sensitivity and changes in body composition.
Our overall hypothesis is that there are alterations in hypothalamic and autonomic circuits following exercise training that result in improvements in insulin sensitivity and body composition.
While the physiological responses to exercise are established, especially in human subjects, the mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood. We strongly believe that several of these exercise-associated effects are mediated by changes in key brain circuits.
Our projects revolve around the hypothesis that several of these exercise-associated effects are mediated by changes in key brain circuits. The investigators involved in this application, Elmquist, Betley, Zigman, and Williams bring distinct and synergistic expertise to the table. The Elmquist/Betley group is investigating the role of the ventromedial hypothalamus nucleus (VMH) neurons in the regulation of metabolic changes induced by exercise. The Zigman group is investigating the physiological importance of ghrelin signaling in regulating responses to exercise. The Williams group is investigating the changes in fundamental cellular properties of hypothalamic neurons following exercise training. These three tightly interwoven Projects address a number of new aspects of inter-organ communication between the peripheral tissues and critical regions in the brain. In summary, these innovative and synergistic studies are aimed at increasing the understanding of how exercise training regulates key peripheral metabolic signals via changes in central nervous system circuits.
Our Exercise Program Project Grant
(P01 DK119130-01A1) was funded in 9/10/2020 and runs until 8/31/2024.