Jessica Yue

Biography

Jessica Yue is an assistant professor belongs to the department of Physiology from the university of Alberta.

Research Interest

The brain plays an essential role in orchestrating the body’s homeostatic mechanisms. This is achieved by a continuous monitoring of nutritional and hormonal cues, which can collectively serve as an indicator of the body’s metabolic status and as a means of feedback. However, brain pathways that couple the body’s energy needs with nutrient intake and endogenous nutrient output are vulnerable to dysregulation in metabolic disorders such as obesity. As a result, excessive caloric intake further contributes to the obese state, and increased production of glucose and lipids by the liver leads to an increased risk for insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are highly visible health concerns that affect growing numbers of Canadians as well as populations in developed and developing countries world-wide. The research of the Yue laboratory focuses on delineating brain mechanisms which coordinate whole-body metabolism. More specifically, research is conducted to characterize stress-related hormone signalling pathways in the brain and the neurocircuitry that drive the regulation of hepatic fuel production, namely glucose and lipids, of feeding behaviour, and of body weight gain. The Yue laboratory encompasses methods in physiology, pharmacology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics. In vivo experimental techniques include glucose clamp experiments with tracer dilution methodology to quantify whole-body glucose turnover, hepatic lipoprotein secretion experiments to study lipid metabolism, and energy monitoring systems to investigate feeding and locomotor behaviours in response to brain treatment interventions. The aim is to advance the current knowledge of the etiology and pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes. Consequently, prospective novel therapeutic signalling molecules in the brain could be identified to restore glucose, lipid, and energy homeostasis in individuals characterized by the metabolic syndrome. Please see the link below for an example of our research: http://www.med.ualberta.ca/news/2015/january/thats-using-your-head