Douglas G. Mashek, PhD

• NIH/NIDDK National Research Service Award
• American Diabetes Association Junior Faculty Award
• Dannon Nutrition Leadership Institute
• Novo Nordisk Diabetes Innovation Award
• CFANS Distinguished Teaching Award
• American Society for Nutrition E.L.R. Stokstad Award
• American Diabetes Association Basic Science Award

• American Diabetes Association
• American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• American Society for Nutrition
• The Obesity Society

Research in the Mashek laboratory focuses on the relationship between lipid metabolism and the development of metabolic and aging-related diseases. A primary emphasis is on studies involving lipid droplet biology in the context of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Type 2 Diabetes, cancer and aging. A major focus is on understanding how lipid droplets are catabolized and how they communicate within cells to influence cell function. We also conduct pre-clinical and clinical studies to determine how alterations in diet and dietary patterns (fasting, time-restricted feeding, etc.) and exercise alter metabolism to improve health.

• Chow L, Manoogian E, Alvear A, Fleischer JG, Thor H, Dietsche K, Wang MS, Hodges J, Nair KS, Panda S, Mashek DG. Time restricted eating effects on body composition and metabolic measures in humans who are overweight: a feasibility study. Obesity 2020;28(5):860-869.
• Cui W, Sathyanarayan A, Lopresti M, Aghajan M, Chen D, Mashek DG. Lipophagy-derived fatty acids undergo extracellular efflux via lysosomal exocytosis. Autophagy 2020;19:1-16.
• Najt CP, Khan SA, Heden TD, Witthuhn BA, Perez M, Mead LE, Franklin MP, Karanja KK, Graham MJ, Mashek MT, Bernlohr DA, Parker L, Chow LS, Mashek DG. Lipid droplet-derived monounsaturated fatty acids traffic via PLIN5 to allosterically activate SIRT1. Molecular Cell 2020;77(4):810-824.
• Zhang E, Cui W, Lopresti, M, Mashek MT, Hu H, Mashek DG. Hepatic PLIN5 signals via SIRT1 to promote autophagy and prevent inflammation during fasting. Journal of Lipid Research 2020;61(3):338-350.
• Seibert JT, Najt CP, Heden TD, Mashek DG, Chow LS. Muscle Lipid Droplets: Cellular Signaling to Exercise Physiology and Beyond. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2020;8:S1043-2760.