Internship Opportunities at the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute

Interns play an integral role in the clinical research at ECDOI by assisting us with testing and data collection. The research we conduct at ECDOI includes physician supervised graded exercise testing, resistance and aerobic exercise training, minimally invasive procedures including muscle and fat biopsies, glucose tolerance testing, blood and tissue processing and body composition measurements.

ECDOI is an interdisciplinary research institute jointly supported by the Divisions of Health Sciences and Research & Graduate Studies. The mission of the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute is to develop, promote, facilitate, and support interdisciplinary basic and clinical research in disorders of metabolism including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer.

https://www.ecu.edu/ecdoi/

Dr. Neufer is the director of the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute which is well known for cutting-edge collaborative research in several fields related to disorders of metabolism, including bariatric surgery, muscle insulin signaling/glucose transport, bioenergetics/exercise physiology and pediatric healthy weight programs. Clinical research is a major focus of ECDOI. Dr. Neufer’s current research is a clinical trial focusing on the impact that cholesterol lowering medication has on mitochondrial function.

#1: Study Title: Impact of statin therapy on muscle mitochondrial function and cardiorespiratory adaptations to aerobic exercise training

The purpose of this study is to determine if atorvastatin, now the most commonly prescribed statin, impairs exercise induced adaptations in skeletal muscle mitochondria content and function, cardiovascular responses, and systemic insulin sensitivity. An additional goal is to determine if low dose atorvastatin (20 mg/day) inhibits these exercise training adaptations, an outcome that would provide physicians a new treatment option for patients who want to exercise and/or increase daily physical activity but also require statin therapy. Participant will be randomized into one of three groups 1) Placebo + Exercise 2) low dose atorvastatin (20mg/day) + Exercise 3) High dose atorvastatin (80mg/day) + Exercise

#2: Study Title: Impact of statin therapy on muscle mitochondrial function and aerobic capacity

Statins block a critical step in the production of cholesterol and thereby help to lower cholesterol levels in people with high cholesterol. There is some evidence that statins may suppress the function of mitochondria, an organelle that serves as the engine for cells to produce energy. The effect of statins on mitochondria appears to only occur in skeletal muscle. Mitochondrial function in muscle is very important for maintaining metabolic and cardiovascular health, and therefore, it is extremely important to understand how long-term statin therapy may affect mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle. This is particularly true given that nearly one of every four adults over 40 years of age is taking a statin – which equates to more than 40 million Americans. The objective of this project is to determine the impact of statin therapy on skeletal muscle mitochondrial function, cardiorespiratory fitness, and metabolism in humans. This study will compare two different doses, 20 and 80 mg/day, of atorvastatin versus a placebo over a 1 year period. The project will be conducted as a collaboration between two institutions, East Carolina University and Kansas University Medical Center. The study will include comprehensive evaluation of mitochondrial function and content, insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular function, and cardiorespiratory fitness. These studies will provide data on how statins affect the function of cells and improve clinical knowledge of the cost-to-benefit ratio of statin therapy.
If you are interested in learning more about an internship at ECODI please contact:

Gabe Dubis

Research Coordinator, East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute

East Carolina Heart Institute

115 Heart Dr. Room 4104

252-737-4677

dubisg@ecu.edu