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Member Profiles: Group Leader: Lab Heads: |
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Laboratory Members
Dr Matthew J. Watt
Head, Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipid Metabolism
NHMRC Peter Doherty Postdoctoral Fellow
Protein Chemistry & Metabolism Unit
St Vincent's Institute
Telephone: +61 3 9288 2480
Facsimile: +61 3 9416 2676
Email: mwatt@svi.edu.au
Other Positions:
- Senior Fellow of the Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, St. Vincent's Hospital
Previous Positions:
- Postdoctoral Fellow School of Medical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia 2003-2005).
- Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Canada (2001-2002).
Education:
| 2002 | PhD (Physiology) Deakin University, Australia |
| 1998 | B. App. Sci (Hons) Deakin University, Australia |
Awards:
| 2006 | Ramaciotti Foundation Establishment Grant. |
| 2004 | NHMRC Peter Doherty Postdoctoral Fellowship |
| 2004 | Australian Physiological Society, AK McIntyre Award |
| 2001 | American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) International Student Award |
| 2001 | Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER) Distinction Award at the Doctoral level |
| 1998 | Deakin University Post-Graduate Award |
Graduate Student Supervision:
| 2006 | Sarah Turpin (Doctor of Physiology Candidate), St. Vincent's Institute. |
| 2004 | Srijan Kumar Pinnanameni (Masters Candidate), RMIT |
Research Interests:
Obesity occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure and is characterised by excessive fat stores, which accumulate triglycerides. The ability to efficiently regulate the storage and release of fatty acids contained in adipose triglyceride requires tightly controlled coordination between hydrolysis (breakdown) and esterification (storage). Resting triglyceride hydrolysis is increased during weight gain, resulting in elevated plasma free fatty acid levels. The oversupply of circulating fatty acids contributes to the accumulation of fatty acid metabolites in skeletal muscle and liver, in turn contributing to the development of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Thus, obesity is associated with two major, inter-related defects; dysfunctional lipolysis which results in elevated circulating fatty acids and excessive accumulation of fatty acid metabolites in peripheral tissues that results in insulin resistance. My general research streams are the:
(1) Investigation of the cellular mechanisms that regulate fat breakdown in health and disease.
(2) Examination of the interrelationships between skeletal muscle fatty acid metabolism and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake.
(3) Characterisation of the intracellular and ligand-dependent mechanisms through which excess fatty acids induce toxicity in skeletal muscle.
Relevant Publications:
- Watt MJ, Dzamko N, Thomas WG, Rose-John S, Ernst M, Carling D, Kemp BE, Febbraio MA, and GR Steinberg. Ciliary neurotrophic factor reverses obesity-induced insulin resistance by activating skeletal muscle AMPK. Nature Medicine 12: 541-548, 2006.
- Watt MJ, Steinberg GR, Chen ZP, Kemp BE, and MA Febbraio. Fatty acids stimulate AMP-activated protein kinase and enhance fatty acid oxidation in L6 myotubes. J. Physiol in press, 2006.
- Watt MJ, Hevener AL, Lancaster GI, and MA Febbraio. Ciliary neurotrophic factor prevents acute lipid-induced insulin resistance by attenuating ceramide accumulation and phosphorylation of JNK in peripheral tissues. Endocrinology, 147: 2077-2085, 2006
- Lee JS, Pinnamaneni SK, Eo SJ, Cho IH, Pyo JH, Kim KC, Sinclair AJ, Febbraio MA, and Watt MJ. Saturated, but not n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, induce insulin resistance: role of intramuscular accumulation of lipid metabolites. J. Appl. Physiol. 100: 1467-1474, 2006.
- Steinberg GR, Watt MJ, Fam BC, Proietto J, Andrikopoulos S, Allen AM, Febbraio MA, Kemp BE. Ciliary neurotrophic factor suppresses hypothalamic AMP-kinase signalling in leptin resistant obese mice. Endocrinology, in press, 2006.
- Watt MJ, Holmes AG, Pinnamaneni SK, Garnham AP, Steinberg GR, Kemp BE, and MA Febbraio. Regulation of HSL serine phosphorylation in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 290: 500-508, 2005.
- Watt MJ, Carey AL, Petersen EW, Pedersen BK, and MA Febbraio. Hormone sensitive lipase is reduced in adipose tissue from patients with type 2 diabetes: influence of IL-6. Diabetologia 48: 105-112, 2005.
- Southgate RJ, Bruce CR, Carey AL, Steinberg GR, Walder K, Monks R, Watt MJ, Hawley JA, Birnbaum MJ, and MA Febbraio. PGC-1 gene expression is down-regulated by Akt mediated phosphorylation and nuclear exclusion of FoxO1 in insulin stimulated skeletal muscle. FASEB J. 14: 2072-2074, 2005
- Lessard SJ, Lo Giudice SL, Lau W, Reid JJ, Turner N, Febbraio MA, Hawley JA, and Watt MJ. Rosiglitazone enhances glucose tolerance by mechanisms other than reduction of fatty acid accumulation within skeletal muscle. Endocrinology 145: 5665-5670, 2004
- Watt MJ, Steinberg GR, Chan MHS, Garnham AP, Kemp BE, and MA Febbraio. -adrenergic stimulation of skeletal muscle HSL can be overridden by AMPK signaling. FASEB J. 18: 1445-1446, 2004
- Watt MJ, Stellingwerff T, Heigenhauser, GJF, and LL Spriet. Adrenergic regulation of hormone sensitive lipase at rest and during moderate exercise in human skeletal muscle. J. Physiol 550: 325-332, 2003.
- Watt MJ, Heigenhauser GJF, and LL Spriet. Effects of dynamic exercise intensity on activation of hormone sensitive lipase activation in human skeletal muscle. J. Physiol. 547: 301-308, 2003
