EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MD, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL

Residency, University of Washington, Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Medicine

Fellowship, University of Washington, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition

OFFICE ADDRESS

Harborview Medical Center
325 Ninth Avenue
UW Mailbox 359675
Seattle, WA 98104-2499


CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

Physiological mechanisms underlying body weight regulation and the pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes.  Major questions under investigation are:  (1) By what mechanism do circulating signals involved in the regulation of body adiposity, including insulin and leptin, act in the brain?  (2) Which specific hypothalamic pathways are sensitive to the actions of insulin and leptin, and what is the cellular basis for these actions?  (3) What are the behavioral and metabolic consequences of the actions of insulin and leptin on their hypothalamic targets?  (4) What mechanism is responsible for hypothalamic resistance to these hormones in obese individuals?  (5)  Do neurocircuits involved in food intake also regulate insulin action in peripheral tissues?


REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Schwartz MW, Woods SC, Seeley RJ, Porte D Jr, and Baskin DG:  Central nervous system control of food intake.  Nature 404:661-671, 2000.

Schwartz MW:  Staying slim with insulin in mind. Science 2089:266-267, 2000.

Niswender KD, Morton GJ, Stearns WH, Rhodes CJ, Myers MG, and Schwartz MW:  Key enzyme in leptin-induced anorexia. Nature 413:794-795, 2001.

Niswender KD, Morrison CD, Clegg DJ, Olson R, Baskin DG, Myers MG Jr, Seeley RJ, Schwartz MW:  Insulin activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus: A key mediator of insulin-induced anorexia.  Diabetes 52:227-231, 2003.

Schwartz MW and Porte D Jr:  Diabetes, obesity, and the brain.  Science 307:375-379, 2005.

Morton GJ, Blevins JE, Williams DL, Niswender KD, Gelling RW, Rhodes CJ, Baskin DG, and Schwartz MW:  Leptin action in the forebrain regulates the hindbrain response to satiety signals.  J Clin Invest 115:703-710, 2005.

Porte D Jr, Baskin DG, and Schwartz MW:  Insulin signaling in the central nervous system:  A critical role in metabolic homeostasis and disease from C. elegans to humans.  Diabetes 54:1264-1276, 2005.

Morton GJ, Gelling RW, Niswender KD, Morrison CD, Rhodes CJ, Schwartz MW:  Leptin regulates insulin sensitivity via phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase signaling in mediobasal hypothalamic neurons.  Cell Metab 2:411-20, 2005. 

Xu AW, Kaelin CB, Takeda K, Akira S, Schwartz MW, Barsh GS:  PI3K integrates the action of insulin and leptin on hypothalamic neurons.  J Clin Invest 115:951-8, 2005.

Williams DL, Baskin DG, Schwartz MW:  Leptin regulation of the anorexic response to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor stimulation.  Diabetes 55:3387-93, 2006. 

Morton GJ, Cummings DE, Baskin DG, Barsh GS, Schwartz MW:  Central nervous system control of food intake and body weight.  Nature 443:289-95, 2006.

Gelling RW, Morton GJ, Morrison CD, Niswender KD, Myers MG Jr, Rhodes CJ, Schwartz MW:  Insulin action in the brain contributes to glucose lowering during insulin treatment of diabetes.  Cell Metab 3:67-73, 2006. 

Williams DL, Baskin DG, Schwartz MW:  Leptin regulation of the anorexic response to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor stimulation.  Diabetes 55:3387-93, 2006.

Weydt P, Pineda VV, Torrence AE, Libby RT, Satterfield TF, Lazarowski ER, Gilbert ML, Morton GJ, Bammler TK, Strand AD, Cui L, Beyer RP, Easley CN, Smith AC, Krainc D, Luquet S, Sweet IR, Schwartz MW, La Spada AR:  Thermoregulatory and metabolic defects in Huntington's disease transgenic mice implicate PGC-1alpha in Huntington's disease neurodegeneration.  Cell Metab 4:349-362, 2006.

Morton GJ, Cummings DE, Baskin DG, Barsh GS, Schwartz MW:  Central nervous system control of food intake and body weight.  Nature 443:289-295, 2006.

Kim F, Pham M, Luttrell I, Bannerman DD, Tupper J, Thaler J, Hawn TR, Raines EW, Schwartz MW:  Toll-like receptor-4 mediates vascular inflammation and insulin resistance in diet-induced obesity.  Circ Res 100:1589-1596, 2007.