Neuroscience-Related Research Opportunities in the Lab of C. Ronald Kahn – Joslin Diabetes Center

My laboratory has been investigating the mechanism of insulin action and its alterations in insulin resistant states, including type 2 diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome for over 35 years.  There are four major areas of research. Number 1 among this is understanding insulin action and insulin resistance. In this area we have projects focusing on the insulin and IGF-1 receptors, their substrate proteins and downstream kinase pathways, which are central to the actions of these hormones. In this area, we have a particular interest in the role of insulin signaling in in the brain, aging and age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, other forms of neurodegeneration, mood, and behavior.  

With regard to training, my laboratory is in training PhD and MD fellows and students. Currently my lab has about 8-10 fellows and 1 visiting PhD student. In all, I have trained over 175 fellows and students, many of whom have gone on to be leaders in the field throughout the world in both academia and industry. 

Examples of some recent publications in these areas, including those related to neuroscience are:

1.     O'Neill BT, Lee KY, Klaus K, Softic S, Krumpoch MT, Fentz J, Stanford KI, Robinson MM, Cai W, Kleinridders A, Pereira RO, Hirshman MF, Abel ED, Accili D, Goodyear LJ, Nair KS, Kahn CR. Insulin and IGF-1 receptors regulate FoxO-mediated signaling in muscle proteostasis. J Clin Invest. 2016 Sep 1;126(9):3433-46. doi: 10.1172/JCI86522. PubMed PMID: 27525440; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5004956.

2.     Cai W, Sakaguchi T, Kleinridders A, Gonzalez-Del Pino G, Dreyfuss J, O’Neill, B, Ramirez A, Pan H., Winnay J, Boucher J, Eck M, Kahn CR.  Domain-dependent effects of insulin and IGF-1 receptors on signaling and gene expression. Nature Communications 2017 Mar.   doi: 10.1038/ncomms14892. PubMed PMID:  28345670; PubMed Central PMCID:  PMC5378997

3.     Cai W, Xue C, Sakaguchi M, Konishi M, Shirazian A, Ferris HA, Li ME, Yu R, Kleinridders A, Pothos EN, Kahn CR. Insulin regulates astrocyte gliotransmission and modulates behavior. J Clin Invest. 2018 Jul 2;128(7):2914-2926. doi:10.1172/JCI99366. Epub 2018 Jun 4. PubMed PMID: 29664737; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC6025980.

4.     Fujisaka S, Ussar S, Clish C, Devkota S, Dreyfuss JM, Sakaguchi M, Soto M, Konishi M, Softic S, Altindis E, Li N, Gerber G, Bry L, Kahn CR. Antibiotic effects on gut microbiota and metabolism are host dependent. J Clin Invest. 2016 Oct 24. pii: 86674. doi: 10.1172/JCI86674. PubMed PMID: 27775551; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5127688. 

5.     Xu C, Tabebordbar M, Iovino S, Ciarlo C, Liu J, Castiglioni A, Price E, Liu M, Barton ER, Kahn CR, Wagers AJ, Zon LI. 2013. A zebrafish embryo culture system defines factors that promote vertebrate myogenesis across species. Cell; 155(4):909-21. PMID: 24209627. PMCID: PMC3902670.

6.     Sakaguchi M, Fujisaka S, Cai W, Winnay JN, Konishi M, O'Neill BT, Li M, García-Martín R, Takahashi H, Hu J, Kulkarni RN, Kahn CR. Adipocyte Dynamics and Reversible Metabolic Syndrome in Mice with an Inducible Adipocyte-Specific Deletion of the Insulin Receptor. Cell Metab. 2017 Feb 7;25(2):448-462. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2016.12.008. PubMed PMID: 28065828; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC5304432

7.     Thomou T, Mori MA, Dreyfuss JM, Konishi M, Sakaguchi M, Wolfrum C, Rao TN,              Winnay JN, Garcia-Martin R, Grinspoon SK, Gorden P, Kahn CR. Adipose-derived circulating miRNAs regulate gene expression in other tissues. Nature. 2017 Feb 23;542(7642):450-455. doi: 10.1038/nature21365. PubMed PMID: 28199304; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5330251.

8.     Kleinridders A, Ferris HA, Reyzer ML, Rath M, Soto M, Manier ML, Spraggins J,Yang Z, Stanton RC, Caprioli RM, Kahn CR. Regional differences in brain glucose metabolism determined by imaging mass spectrometry. Mol Metab. 2018Jun;12:113-121. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2018.03.013. Epub 2018 Apr 6. PubMed PMID: 29681509; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6001904.

9.     Soto M, Herzog C, Pacheco JA, Fujisaka S, Bullock K, Clish CB, Kahn CR. Gut microbiota modulate neurobehavior through changes in brain insulin sensitivity and metabolism. Mol Psychiatry. 2018 Dec;23(12):2287-2301. doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0086-5. Epub 2018 Jun 18. PubMed PMID: 29910467; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6294739.

10.  Soto M, Cai W, Konishi M, Kahn CR. Insulin signaling in the hippocampus and amygdala regulates metabolism and neurobehavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Mar 26;116(13):6379-6384. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1817391116. Epub 2019 Feb 14. PubMed PMID: 30765523.

If you have any interest in a position in the lab, please contact me at 

Personal E-Mail: c.ronald.kahn@joslin.harvard.edu

Website: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/kahnlaboratory/home