Lipid Signaling and Metabolism

Dr. James M. Ntambi is Professor of Biochemistry and the Steenbock Professor of Nutritional Sciences, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as Adjunct Professor of Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The focus of Dr. Ntambi's research is to understand the genetic regulation of metabolism, adipocyte biology, and differentiation. He is specifically interested in the genetic basis of obesity, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, diabetes and fatty live disease and how dietary factors, hormones, and environmental factors influence these disease states. Most recently, his team have genetically engineered mice that are born without the stearoyl-CoA desaturase gene-1, and found that these mice resist obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. Dr. Ntambi also conducts research on obesity and diabetes and other non-communicable metabolic diseases in developing countries. He has set up the Lweza-Mukono Community Health Initiatives Inc. (lwezahealth.org) a registered organization operating as a center of excellence in Lweza village Mukono District, Uganda implementing projects linking health to agriculture, nutrition and education to address, prevent, delay and manage the non-communicable metabolic diseases referred to above. Dr. Ntambi has published more than 200 scientific articles in such journals as Cell Metabolism, JBC, Journal of Lipid research, PNAS, JCI, Scientific Reports, PLoS ONE, BBRC, Gastroenterology, and Journal of Hepatology.

• 1. Homeostatic Control of Membrane Lipid Biosynthesis in Bacteria2. Lipid trafficking and signaling in plants3. Sex as a modulator of lipid metabolism and metabolic disease4. Local interactions in the bone marrow microenvironment and their contribution to system metabolic processes5. Lipids in the Transcriptional Regulation of Adipocyte Differentiation and Metabolism6. Lipid receptors and signaling in adipose tissue7. Adipocyte lipolysis and lipid derived metabolite signaling8. Regulation of Intracellular Lipid Storage and Utilization9. The lipid droplet as a signaling node10. Lipid droplets in the immune response and beyond11. Fatty acids mediators and the inflammasome12. Identification and pathophysiological roles of LTB4 receptors BLT1 and BLT213. The Forkhead Box O family in Insulin Action and Lipid Metabolism14. Interplays between nutritional and inflammatory signaling and fat metabolism in pathophysiology of NAFLD15. Endocannabinoids: The Lipid Effectors of Metabolic Regulation in Health and Disease16. Gut Microbiota Interaction in Host Lipid Metabolism17. Insights into the metabolism of lipids in Obesity and Diabetes18. Lipid metabolic features of skeletal muscle in pathological and physiological conditions19. Sphingolipid mediators of cell signaling and metabolism20. Role of bile acid receptors in the regulation of cardiovascular diseases21. Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Effects of n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids in Cardiovascular Diseases 22. Lipid metabolism and signaling in Cancer23. Altered lipid metabolic homeostasis in Alzheimer’s disease24. Role of Xenosterols in Health and Disease25. Adipose Tissue Development and Metabolic Regulation