AnnMarie Torres, PhD.

Education

• Research mentor: Kathryn Wellen, PhD; University of Pennsylvania

• Teaching mentor: Sandra G. Devenny, Delaware County Community College                                                

• Karen Baskerville, Ph.D., Lincoln University  

Research Topic: Role of acetyl-CoA metabolism in adipocyte function

Globally, rates of obesity have more than doubled in the last 35 years.  In the U.S.A. alone, more than one third of adults are obese and childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980.  Obesity predisposes individuals to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ with important roles in regulating energy homeostasis and metabolic function through uptake of metabolites such as glucose, and is known to be dysfunctional in obesity. Many metabolites are now known to have important roles in signaling, epigenetics and gene expression. The metabolic enzyme ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) cleaves glucose-derived citrate to produce nuclear-cytoplasmic acetyl-CoA, the metabolite used for de novo lipogenesis and histone acetylation. ACLY has been shown to be suppressed in adipose tissue during obesity. Therefore, I hypothesize that ACLY plays a crucial role in maintaining adipocyte function, and my goal to elucidate its role in adipocyte gene expression and functions such as lipid metabolism.  Understanding the mechanisms by which metabolic pathways influence signaling, gene expression and epigenetics will allows us to generate new and better ways to treat obesity and diabetes.

Courses Taught

• BIO 230 52L- Microbiology; Instructor; Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

• BIO 204- Fundamentals of Scientific Inquiry in the Biological Sciences I; Instructor; Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

• BIO 325- Animal Development; Teaching Assistant; Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

• BIO 327- Developmental Genetics Laboratory; Teaching Assistant; Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

 
Publications

Journal Publications 

• Torres A, Luke JD, Kullas AL, Kapilashrami K, Botbol Y, Koller A, Tonge PJ, Chen EI, Macian F, van der Velden AW.  Aspargine deprivation mediated by Salmonella asparaginase causes suppression of activation-induced T cell metabolic reprogramming.  Journal of Leukocyte Biology.  2015

• Kullas, A.L., M. McClelland, H-J. Yang, J.W. Tam, A. Torres, S. Porwollik, P. Mena, J.B. McPhee, L. Bogomolnaya, H. Andrews-Polymenis and A.W.M. van der Velden.  2012.  L-Asparaginase II Produced by Salmonella Typhimurium Inhibits T Cell Responses and Mediates Virulence.  Cell Host and Microbe. 12: 791-798

Contact info:

AnnMarie Torres
IRACDA Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Cancer Biology
University of Pennsylvania
421 Curie Boulevard
639 Biomedical Research Building II/III
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6160

Email: antorr@mail.med.upenn.edu