Beeson Scholar Sascha Dublin on Diabetes and Arrhythmias

Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD, was interviewed by Reuters Health in a May 11th article on the health risks associated with diabetes. Dr. Dublin and her team at the Group Health Research Institute discovered that people with diabetes suffer a greater chance of having atrial fibrillation, which is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. While there have been many studies conducted on the link between diabetes and atrial fibrillation, they have never led to one conclusive result, perhaps because many failed to account for obesity. Dr. Dublin and her colleagues attempted to settle that uncertainty by analyzing data for 1,410 people…

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BIG Recipient Scott Pletcher on Olfactory Neurons and Long Life

An article in Science Magazine titled “Smell Less, Live Longer,” published in April, features the research of 2005 BIG Grantee Scott Pletcher, PhD, on the connection between olfactory neurons and life length. Dr. Pletcher and his colleagues investigated a factor—olfaction—that contributes to the fact that a low-calories diet can extend lives.  They found that when fruit flies smell live yeast while on a diet, they will die sooner. Searching for the specific odor responsible for this, they began by testing the odor receptor for carbon dioxide. Dr. Pletcher and his team discovered that flies…

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Dr. Dorry Segev Investigates Health Risks Associated with Kidney Donation

Dorry Segev, MD, PhD, was featured in a March 9th, 2010, US News & World Report article that reported on the conclusion of a study on the health risks and mortality associated with kidney donation. Dr. Segev found that kidney donors live as long as, or longer than, non-donors, even though the risk of death from the operation is 3.1 per 10,000 donors. After a year, however, a kidney donor’s risk of dying becomes lower than a non-donor’s, one speculated reason being that a donor cares more about his health when he only has a single kidney left. Dr.…

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Grantee Jonathan Wanagat Explores Aging and Weight Gain

Jonathan Wanagat, MD, PhD, was featured in a February NPR story exploring why humans gain weight as they age. It is commonly understood that we grow heavier as we grow older, but scientists are still deepening their understanding of how and why this occurs. One factor, highlighted in the story, is the weakening and shrinking of muscles. Muscles play a role in managing weight because they burn calories. However, when there is less muscle, more calories become converted to fat, leading to weight gain. Dr. Wanagat investigates the reasons muscles shrink as we age, and the effects of exercise on…

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Dr. Luigi Fontana Explores Caloric Restriction

TIME magazine published “Eat Less, Live Longer?” on February 11, tracking a study on the effects of caloric reduction led by BIG Awardee Luigi Fontana, MD, PhD. Early research on organisms ranging from yeast to monkeys showed that a 25-30% decrease in calories could increase lifespan by 50% and prevent diseases. When there is less food, the body reassigns energy from other functions towards survival. Dr. Fontana’s two-year study at Tufts University, the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE), tracks the health of volunteers who reduce their caloric intake by 25% each day. Researchers…

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