Christopher L Pankey, Ph.D.
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Office: A326 Lab: J215 Phone: (304) 793-6576
Postdoctoral Training United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service – Grand Forks Human Nutrition Center Grand Forks, ND Field: Exercise Science Doctor of Philosophy University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY Field: Obesity, Reproductive Biology
Bachelor of Science University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY Field: Physiology with a minor in Neuroscience
As a graduate research assistant at the Center for the Study of Fetal Programming, I investigated how obesity and associated comorbidities affect the individual and their future offspring. My previous research findings show that diet induced obesity and the associated indications of metabolic syndrome are passed through multiple generations, even with future offspring eating only to requirements. Specifically, I found that markers of metabolic syndrome can be observed through three generations in an ovine model. Simply put, if a pregnant mother is obese, adverse metabolic phenotypes are observable in her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Moving forward I plan to determine the epigenetic mechanisms at play in similar animal models, which may be targeted in future studies in an attempt to rescue these adverse phenotypes.
In addition to obesity and fetal programming, I also have a strong interest in exercise science. During my post-doctoral research position at the USDA I designed a clinical study to help understand the molecular mechanisms involved in facilitating the favorable health outcomes associated with exercise. Preliminary data suggests that skeletal muscle may be playing an endocrine role in response to exercise, and these signals may be combating the chronic-low grade inflammation that is observed in obesity. With this concept in mind, I am implementing an “exercise is medicine” approach focused on determining the roles of signaling molecules from both adipose tissue and skeletal muscle during exercise. In the long term I hope these findings can be incorporated into a fetal programming model in an attempt to rescue the adverse phenotypes observed in future generations from obese lineages.