Home Department: Bioengineering
Mentor: Paul Khavari (Dermatology)

2023 Research Project:“Investigating the Energy-Independent Role of Glucose in Insulin Response”

The Khavari Lab has established an energy-independent role for glucose in which glucose binds to proteins to change their oligomerization and function. They have discovered an additional glucose-binding protein—TSC22D4, an insulin-responsive transcriptional repressor—and hypothesize that glucose is necessary during insulin signaling not only as a source of energy but through direct TSC22D4-glucose interactions. In their model, glucose binds TSC22D4, causing the protein to de-dimerize and release DNA to promote transcription of insulin-responsive genes. Vivian will be testing this model by using biochemical assays to confirm that glucose binding causes TSC22D4 to de-dimerize and changes in DNA interactions, as well as functional assays in cell culture to establish the role of TSC22D4 in insulin response.
 

2024 Research Project:"The Energy-Independent Role of Glucose in Adipogenesis"

Metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease affect millions worldwide. Previous work in the Khavari Lab has shown that glucose not only acts as an energy source but also directly binds to proteins to change their function, regulating metabolism. The lab has discovered a glucose-binding protein – TSC22D4 – which is involved in insulin response. Vivian’s project will apply biochemical assays and cell cultures to study the role of glucose-TSC22D4 interactions in the formation of fat cells, a process heavily affected by metabolic diseases. She hopes to show how glucose accumulation is not a consequence of metabolic disease, but a cause.