Michael Ross, MD, MPH
Investigator, The Lundquist Institute
Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Public Health, David Geffen School of Medicine and Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA
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Developmental origins of adult obesity
Research Description
Dr. Ross, alongside fellow Lundquist researcher, Mina Desai, PhD, investigates the mechanisms of developmental origins of obesity using rodent models of maternal under- and over-nutrition as well as exposure to environmental chemical endocrine disruptors (e.g., bispheol A) during pregnancy and/or lactation. They study the offspring using multiple approaches that include stem cells, epigenetics, gene expression, cellular signaling, physiology and transgenic mice. Their two main areas of research include:1) Role of appetite in programmed obesity – investigating the properties of neural stem cells that populate and develop arcuate nucleus center (appetite regulatory site) and the underlying contributory mechanism.
2) Role of adipogenesis in programmed obesity - investigating the properties of adipocyte stem cells and the mechanisms which predispose to increased fat storage.
Theme Groups
Research Interests
Education
- BS, 1974, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- MD, 1978, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
- MPH, 1978, Harvard School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA
Recent and/or Significant Publications
Desai M, Li T, Han G, Ross MG. Programmed hyperphagia secondary to increased hypothalamic SIRT1. Brain Res. 2014 Nov 17; 1589: 26–36.
Desai M, Jellyman JK, Han G, Lane RH, Ross MG. Programmed regulation of rat offspring adipogenic transcription factor (PPARγ) by maternal nutrition. J Dev Orig Health Dis 6:530-8.
Desai M, Han G, Ross MG. Programmed Hyperphagia in Offspring of Obese Dams: Altered Expression of Hypothalamic Nutrient Sensors, Neurogenic Factors and Epigenetic Modulators. Appetite 99:193-199.
Desai M, Ferrini MG, Han G, Jellyman JK, Ross MG. In vivo maternal and in vitro BPA exposure effects on hypothalamic neurogenesis and appetite regulators. Environ Res. Jul;164:45-52.
List of Published Work in