Office Address

420 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States

Howard

Towle

Emeritus Faculty
Biochemistry Molecular Biology and Biophysics

My research interests revolve around the metabolic disorders of obesity, fatty liver disease and insulin resistance; in particular, the impact of high sugar diets on generation of triglyceride. Diets that are high in simple carbohydrates (sucrose, fructose, glucose) induce a transcriptional response in the liver that enhances the expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in converting sugars into triglycerides. A transcription factor that is central to this metabolic adaptation is ChREBP (Carbohydrate Response Element Binding Protein). My research involved the identification of this novel transcription factor and attempts to understand how increased glucose metabolism leads to its activation in the liver. The positioning of ChREBP at the interface between carbohydrate and fat metabolism suggests a potential role in contributing to fatty liver disease and the metabolic dysregulation that can result from this condition.