The Directory of Research and Researchers at Brown: Eduardo A. Nillni

Obesity and its related medical complications including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, and cancer account for more than 300,000 deaths per year in the United States. Obesity occurs as a result of a longstanding imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, which is influenced by a very complex set of biological pathway systems regulating appetite. A more thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of obesity and regulation of energy metabolism is essential for the development of effective therapies. My laboratory study the biology of different hypothalamic neuropeptide hormones and enzyme nutrient sensors involved in the regulation of energy balance.

Overview | Research | Grants/Awards | Teaching | Publications

Dr. Eduardo A. Nillni joined the Division of Endocrinology in the Department of Medicine as a member of the research faculty in 1989. His education included a master's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a PhD from the Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, where he studied the Biochemistry of Parasitic Protozoa. Dr. Nillni did his post-doctoral fellowship in membrane biology of parasitic protozoa at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, and he then became a member of the faculty in 1984. He subsequently shifted his research to the field of Endocrinology and has established a highly productive program studying the role of neuropeptide hormones, nutrient sensors in the hypothalamus and the adiposite hormone leptin involved in the regulation of food intake energy homeostasis.

Dr. Nillni currently is an appointed member of the Integrative Physiology of Obesity and Diabetes National Institutes of Health Study Section (IPOD), a member of the Editorial Board of Endocrinology, and in 2010 he will be the Chairman of the Lifespan affiliated Hospitals Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Dr. Nillni is also a NIH Trainer in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry, and Pathobiology graduate programs. He is also an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, including the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Journal of Neurochemistry, American Journal of Physiology among many. Among his honors, he was the recipient of the 2001 Bruce Selya Award for Research Excellence at Lifespan, and his work was featured in a National Science Foundation progress report to the U.S. Congress.

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Model depicting Sirt1 action in the hypothalamus

Illustration of proTRH post-translational processing

Schematic representation of the TRH neuron with the most relevant inputs controlling its gene expression

EDUARDO A. NILLNI, PHD, MS
Professor of Medicine
Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Phone: +1 401 444 5733
E-mail: Eduardo_Nillni@Brown.EDU

Eduardo A. Nillni's Brown Research URL:
http://research.brown.edu/myresearch/Eduardo_A._Nillni

On The Web:
Two enzymes key to calorie-burning, Brown research shows
Controlling Key Enzyme in Brain Offers Clue For Future Obesity Treatment

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