Dr. Baur maintains an active research program that involves extensive metabolic phenotyping in rodents. Major interests in the lab include the consequences of altered nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolism, effects of caloric restriction (CR) and CR-mimetic drugs, and the use of isotopic labeling of precursors to assess metabolic flux. Dr. Baur oversees all aspects of the core and provides long-term strategic direction.

Paul Titchenell, Ph.D., Co-Director

Dr. Titchenell maintains an active NIH-funded research program that is driven by in vivo rodent physiology and metabolic phenotyping. Dr. Titchenell’s laboratory is focused on the control of metabolism by hormones and nutrients with a particular focus on the molecular mechanisms of insulin action and insulin resistance. Dr. Titchenell’s laboratory takes advantage of the latest experimental techniques in rodents including the use of labelled metabolites to define the systemic control of glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism. In cooperation with Dr. Baur, Dr. Titchenell provides strategic oversight and manages all aspects of the core.

Corey D. Holman, Ph.D., Technical Director

Dr. Holman has over 7 years of experience working with metabolic phenotyping in rodents. She started her career as a research technician in the Weill Cornell Medicine Metabolic Phenotyping Center, then did her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in the laboratory of Dr. Patrick Seale. Dr. Holman’s thesis work on thermogenic adipose tissue focused on understanding the contribution of adipocyte precursor cells and adipocyte subpopulations to the aging-induced decline in beige adipose tissue development. Throughout her doctoral studies, Corey also ran and maintained the metabolic cage system for the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Dr. Holman is excited to not only bring her expertise in metabolic phenotyping to assist the UPenn and greater Philadelphia community (and beyond!) with experiments, but also develop and integrate new techniques into the RMPC and help advance the rodent metabolic phenotyping field as a whole.

Please reach out to Corey if you would like to schedule an experiment! holmanc@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Qingwei Chu, M.D, M.Sc., Research Specialist

Dr. Chu has more than 20 years of experience handling rodents. She is a highly skilled surgeon and routinely performs arterial and venous catheterizations to support infusion studies (including glucose clamps) with both radioactive and stable isotope tracers. In addition, she performs implantations to support telemetric monitoring and develops new surgical procedures to facilitate unique experimental designs.