Henri BRUNENGRABER, MD, PhD
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Professor and Chairman
- Director: CASE Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center (MMPC)
One of six such centers in the nation (mmpc.org)
- Program Director and Training Faculty: Metabolism Training Program (MTP)
- BSTP Trainer
Metabolic regulation; control of flux through metabolic pathways; design and testing of artificial nutrients; noninvasive probes of liver metabolism; markers of alcoholism; mass spectrometry; metabolomics.
BACKGROUND
Dr. Brunengraber is currently serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Case Western Reserve University - a position he has held since he joined the School of Medicine and the former Mt. Sinai Medical Center in 1990.
In 2004, Dr. Brunengraber was named the first recipient of the Mt. Sinai Auxiliary Commemorative Chair in Nutrition Research. The professorship was made possible by a grant from the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation to commemorate the Mt. Sinai Community Partners, formely the Mt. Sinai Auxiliary.
His laboratory (and office), located in the Biomedical Research Building (next to University Hospital of Cleveland), houses one of the largest Gas-Chromatography/Mass-Spectrometry facilities in Northeast Ohio. At the present time, his lab is comprised of post-doctoral research associates, undergraduate and graduate students, research assistants, and other essential support staff.
EDUCATION
1961 M.S. in Chemistry Université of Liège (Belgium)
1968 M.D., Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
1976 Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Research in BASIC and APPLIED Nutritional Biochemistry.
OUR BASIC INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE:
(i) Regulation of the pathways of fatty acid oxidation, ketone body metabolism, citric acid cycle and gluconeogenesis, with an emphasis on metabolomics coupled with stable isotope technology.
(ii) Regulation of malonyl-CoA metabolism in mammalian tissues, emphasing intracellular compartmentation and turnover of malonyl-CoA.
(iii) Exploration of the biochemical basis of new dietary strategies for the treatment of inborn disorders of fatty acid oxidation.
OUR APPLIED INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE THE DESIGN OF NEW COMPOUNDS FOR:
(i) Development of artificial nutrients for the treatment of unborn disorders of metabolism.
(ii) Development and testing of drugs for the prevention of reperfusion injury after myocardial infarction, stroke, and organ transplantation (traps for reducing equivalents and peroxide radicals).
All of the above projects make extensive use of animal models (isolated perfused livers and hearts, in vivo preparations) and stable isotope technology (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as well as nuclear magnetic resonance)
METABOLOMICS
The use of Metabolomics has taken an increasing importance in our current research and overall methods of analysis. We collaborate with Dr. Joanne Kelleher (MIT)
2006 article published in: Metabolomics, Vol. 2, No. 2, June 2006 (© 2006) "Metabolomic assays of the concentration and mass isotopomer distribution of gluconeogenic and citric acid cycle intermediates."
link to PDF
|
