Rotonya M. Carr | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Harvard University Weill Cornell Medicine |
Children | 2 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Hepatology, gastroenterology, lipid droplet biology |
Institutions | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania University of Washington |
Rotonya McCants Carr is an American hepatologist and physician-scientist who studies the function of lipid metabolites and lipid droplet proteins in relation to hepatic insulin signaling. She is the Cyrus E. Rubin Chair and division head of gastroenterology at the University of Washington.
Carr and her brother were raised by a single mother with some support from their grandmother. [1] She grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. [1] She was a first-generation college student. [1] Carr earned a B.A. and M.A. in biology, cum laude, from Harvard University in 1996. [2] She completed a gap year in Butterworth, South Africa where she volunteered at a technical college. [1] She completed a M.D. at Weill Cornell Medicine in 2001. [2] At the Massachusetts General Hospital, Carr conducted an internship from 2001 to 2002 in the laboratory of endocrinologist Rexford S. Ahima and a residency from 2002 to 2004. [2]
For four years, Carr worked as a general internist at the Ferguson Medical Center in Sikeston, Missouri. [1] While there, she met and married Tyree. [1] Together, they had two children. [1] Carr completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) from 2008 to 2011 followed by a postdoctoral fellowship from 2009 to 2013. [2] In 2018, Carr was an assistant professor at HUP. [3] The same year, she was a nominee for the board of the school district of Philadelphia. [3]
Carr is a hepatologist and hepatic lipid droplet biology physician-scientist. [4] She researches the function of lipid metabolites and lipid droplet proteins in relation to hepatic insulin signaling. [5] She is an associate professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Washington. [2] She holds the Cyrus E. Rubin endowed chair in medicine. [2] In 2020, Carr became a founding member of the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hematologists. [2] In 2021, she became a fellow of the American College of Physicians. [2] The same year, Carr participated in public service announcements to encourage vaccinations among communities of color. [6]
Lipolysis is the metabolic pathway through which lipid triglycerides are hydrolyzed into a glycerol and free fatty acids. It is used to mobilize stored energy during fasting or exercise, and usually occurs in fat adipocytes. The most important regulatory hormone in lipolysis is insulin; lipolysis can only occur when insulin action falls to low levels, as occurs during fasting. Other hormones that affect lipolysis include leptin, glucagon, epinephrine, norepinephrine, growth hormone, atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide, and cortisol.
Fatty liver disease (FLD), also known as hepatic steatosis and steatotic liver disease (SLD), is a condition where excess fat builds up in the liver. Often there are no or few symptoms. Occasionally there may be tiredness or pain in the upper right side of the abdomen. Complications may include cirrhosis, liver cancer, and esophageal varices.
Perilipin, also known as lipid droplet-associated protein, perilipin 1, or PLIN, is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the PLIN gene. The perilipins are a family of proteins that associate with the surface of lipid droplets. Phosphorylation of perilipin is essential for the mobilization of fats in adipose tissue.
Intramuscular fat is located inside skeletal muscle fibers. It is stored in lipid droplets that exist in close proximity to the mitochondria, where it serves as an energy store that can be used during exercise. In humans, excess accumulation of intramuscular fat has been associated with conditions such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-lipodystrophy syndrome is associated with over-accumulation of intramuscular fat, which may contribute to AIDS wasting syndrome.
Dame Sheila Patricia Violet Sherlock DBE, FRCP FRCPE FRS HFRSE FMGA FCRGA was a British physician and medical educator who is considered the major 20th-century contributor to the field of hepatology.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, also known as the glitazone reverse insulin resistance receptor, or NR1C3 is a type II nuclear receptor functioning as a transcription factor that in humans is encoded by the PPARG gene.
Phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase is a transferase enzyme which converts phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) to phosphatidylcholine (PC) in the liver. In humans it is encoded by the PEMT gene within the Smith–Magenis syndrome region on chromosome 17.
Sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1) also known as sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SREBF1 gene.
Adipose differentiation-related protein, also known as perilipin 2, ADRP or adipophilin, is a protein which belongs to the perilipin (PAT) family of cytoplasmic lipid droplet (CLD)–binding proteins. In humans it is encoded by the ADFP gene. This protein surrounds the lipid droplet along with phospholipids and is involved in assisting the storage of neutral lipids within the lipid droplets.
Congenital generalized lipodystrophy is an extremely rare autosomal recessive condition, characterized by an extreme scarcity of fat in the subcutaneous tissues. It is a type of lipodystrophy disorder where the magnitude of fat loss determines the severity of metabolic complications. Only 250 cases of the condition have been reported, and it is estimated that it occurs in 1 in 10 million people worldwide.
Hans Popper was an Austrian-born pathologist, hepatologist and teacher. Together with Dame Sheila Sherlock, he is widely regarded as the founding father of hepatology. He is the namesake of the Hans Popper Hepatopathology Society, as well as the International Hans Popper Award and the Hans Popper Hepatopathology Society.
Gökhan S. Hotamisligil is a Turkish-American physician scientist; James Stevens Simmons Chair of Genetics and Metabolism at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH); Director of the Sabri Ülker Center for Metabolic Research and associate member of Harvard-MIT Broad Institute, Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Joslin Diabetes Center.
Perilipin 5, also known as Oxpatperilipin 5 or PLIN5, is a protein that belongs to perilipin family. This protein group has been shown to be responsible for lipid droplet's biogenesis, structure and degradation. In particular, Perilipin 5 is a lipid droplet-associated protein whose function is to keep the balance between lipolysis and lipogenesis, as well as maintaining lipid droplet homeostasis. For example, in oxidative tissues, muscular tissues and cardiac tissues, PLIN5 promotes association between lipid droplets and mitochondria.
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Robert V. Farese, Jr., is an American physician-scientist and professor of Cell Biology at the Sloan Kettering Institute of Memorial Sloan Kettering. He is an internationally recognized leader in the study of cellular lipid metabolism and has made seminal contributions to our understanding of energy storage as triglycerides in cellular organelles called lipid droplets.
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