Faculty
Renee C. LeBoeuf, PhD
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Research Professor
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Research is directed toward identifying environmental and genetic factors involved in the development of atherosclerosis and diabetes/obesity. In particular, our research focuses on vascular complications associated with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Environmental factors include dietary components (e.g. fat, cholesterol and carbohydrates). Genetic factors include genes coding for proteins involved in lipid metabolism and inflammation. A focus is the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and mice lacking TNF receptors are used to determine the molecular mechanism(s) controlling disease severity. Inbred mouse strains differing in susceptibility to these diseases are used. Finally, inbred mice are used in positional cloning approaches to identify new genes involved in disease development.
