Seminar: Oct. 13, Dr. Christopher Kassotis, PhD

Please join us on Friday, October 13, at 12:00 pm in Field Auditorium, Environment Hall, to hear Dr. Chris Kassotis speak about “Mechanisms of adipogenic activity of environmental contaminants and mixture.” Dr. Kassotis is currently an NRSA postdoctoral research fellow in the Nicholas School of the Environment. He works in Dr. Heather Stapleton’s lab and is researching the ability of and mechanisms through which various indoor contaminants and house dust may promote adipogenesis (lipid accumulation in fat cells and/or fat cell proliferation) and contribute to potential adverse metabolic health in children.

See abstract below for specific information regarding his talk on Friday. 

Obesity and metabolic disorders are a large societal concern and generate significant human health care costs. Recently, attention has focused on the potential for environmental contaminants to act as metabolic disruptors through disruption of nuclear hormone receptors. Our work has sought to evaluate the potential for diverse environmental contaminants to promote fat cell development, using an in vitro model of adipogenesis. These mouse pre-adipocytes, when exposed to “active” chemicals, differentiate into adipocytes, undergo morphological changes, accumulate triglycerides, and eventually come to resemble a mature human white fat cell. Our recent work has found that numerous indoor semivolatile organic contaminants can promote fat cell differentiation, and that mixtures of these chemicals present in house dust are also sufficient to drive differentiation at low, environmentally relevant levels. Our next steps are digging deeper into mechanisms, causative chemicals, and potential health impacts from exposure.