Fellow Statements
Madison Newberry
My long-term research interest is in obesity and understanding how an obese state can lead to chronic inflammation and the effects that inflammation has on the body. My current proposed project will hopefully lead to a better understanding of how visceral adiposity may increase local and whole-body inflammation, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia. My academic training and research experience to date have provided me with an excellent background in molecular biology and animal work. As an undergraduate and graduate student at Mississippi College, I worked with fruit flies to study how high salt diet affects reproductive outcomes. This research not only fueled my thirst for bench work but solidified a passion for molecular biology of which I carry with me to this day. During my first two years rotating in labs at UMMC, I gained experience working with mice, learning how to perform EchoMRI scans and harvest tissues under the guidance of Dr. Joshua Speed. This pushed me to an appreciation and love for animal work. For my current project, I am looking at the role endothelin-1 plays in obesity-induced inflammation, specifically at how the endothelin A receptor on vascular smooth muscle cells induces inflammation in visceral adipose tissue.