Past Fellows

  • Antwi-B. Oteng, PhD

    Postdoctoral Fellow (August, 2020 – July, 2021)

    Mentor: Rebecca Haeusler, PhD

    Dr. Oteng received a BSc in Biochemistry in 2011 from the University of Ghana, an MSc in Molecular Life Science in 2014 from Wageningen University, Netherlands, and a PhD in Molecular Nutrition, Metabolism and Genomics in 2019 from Wageningen University. His doctoral work investigated the regulation of cellular lipid metabolism with a focus on trans fatty acids as well as the therapeutic potential in targeting angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) for cardiometabolic diseases. For his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Rebecca Haeusler, he studied the potential of modulating bile acid metabolism to reverse obesity and obesity-associated cardiometabolic complications. Bile acids are well-known for aiding fat absorption in the small intestine. Yet, different bile acid species show different ability to promote fat absorption, and modulating these bile acid species can regulate the extent of fat absorption and slow down or reverse obesity. Dr Oteng conducted studies in pre-clinical models with humanized bile acid profile to aid a better translation of findings to clinical situation in humans. Dr. Oteng is currently (since August 2021) a postdoctoral fellow at NIDDK, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland investigating GPCR-signaling in incretin-producing enteroendocrine cells for diabetes treatment.

    Publications:

    Oteng AB, Higuchi S, Banks AS, Haeusler RA. Cyp2c-deficiency depletes muricholic acids and protects against high-fat diet-induced obesity in male mice but promotes liver damage. Mol Metab. 2021;53:101326. doi:10.1016/j.molmet.2021.101326

  • Rachel Arakawa, MD

    • Past Fellow

    Postdoctoral Fellow (August 01, 2018 – 07/31/2020)

    Mentor: Judith Korner, MD, PhD

    Dr. Arakawa received a B.A. in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 and M.D. from the University of Hawaii in 2014.  She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian-Columbia University Irving Medical Center and became certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 2017.  She began her fellowship training in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at New York Presbyterian-Columbia University in 2017 and earned her American Board certification in Endocrinology in 2019.  

     

    Dr. Arakawa’s research training focused on the effects of bariatric surgery on GI hormones of glucose and energy homeostasis. Specifically, she investigated 1) differences in GI hormones of energy homeostasis and sweet cravings as mechanisms of for greater efficacy of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) over sleeve gastrectomy (SG); and 2) weight-independent changes in GI hormones and other factors that may mediate improvement in insulin resistance after RYGB. Dr. Arakawa is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone disease at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC.

    Publications:

    1. Arakawa, R., Febres, G., Cheng, B., Krikhely, A., Bessler, M., & Korner, J. (2020). Prospective study of gut hormone and metabolic changes after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. PloS one, 15(7), e0236133. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236133

     

    Book chapters

    1. Arakawa, R., Anh, W., and Nickolas, T.  Hyperparathyroidism, Osteoporosis, Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral Bone Disorders (2019).  Pocket Nephrology (1st Edition).  Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer
    2. Arakawa, R and Stewart T. Thyroid cancer and Thyroid Nodules (2019).  Netter’s Integrated Review of Medicine.  Elsevier

  • Diane Dapito, PhD

    • Past Fellow

    Postdoctoral Fellow (August 01, 2019 – December 31, 2019)

    Mentor: Utpal Pajvani, MD, PhD

    Dr. Dianne Dapito received her PhD in Nutrition and Metabolic Biology from Columbia University in 2015. Her doctoral work focused heavily on investigating liver pathophysiology; specifically on innate immunity and liver fibrosis and how they contributed to the development of liver cancer. She pursued a short postdoctoral fellow position at ETH Zurich in Switzerland working on obesity, brown adipose tissue and cancer cachexia-induced adipose tissue browning. During this time, she became heavily interested in how obesity, although manifesting simply as adipose accumulation, results in systemic changes that affect whole body systems. Dr. Dapito’s research primarily focused on molecular mechanisms of multi-organ crosstalk in obesity. Of particular interest was the crosstalk between adipose tissue and the liver in the setting of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

     

    Dr. Dapito training in the Pajvani laboratory was focused on dissecting the complex interplay and crosstalk between adipose tissue and the liver in the setting of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and focuses on the study of developmental signaling pathways in adult physiology. Specifically, the plan for her fellowship training while supported by this T32 was to focus on the study of developmental signaling pathways in adult physiology; specifically the role of Notch signaling. Using a mouse model of liver-specific Notch hyperactivation (L-NICD), she had begun to investigate how Notch overexpression in the hepatocytes drives changes in the liver secretome that can affect adipose tissue physiology. For personal reasons, Dr. Dapito left Columbia University on 12/31/2019.

     

    Publications:

    1. Müller S, Perdikari A, Dapito DH, Sun W, Wollscheid B, Balaz M, Wolfrum C. ESRRG and PERM1 Govern Mitochondrial Conversion in Brite/Beige Adipocyte Formation. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020 Jun 12;11:387. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2020.00387. PMID: 32595605; PMCID: PMC7304443.
    2. Challa TD, Dapito DH, Kulenkampff E, Kiehlmann E, Moser C, Straub L, Sun W, Wolfrum C. A Genetic Model to Study the Contribution of Brown and Brite Adipocytes to Metabolism. Cell Rep. 2020 Mar 10;30(10):3424-3433.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.055. PMID: 32160547.
    3. Sun W, Dong H, Becker AS, Dapito DH, Modica S, Grandl G, Opitz L, Efthymiou V, Straub LG, Sarker G, Balaz M, Balazova L, Perdikari A, Kiehlmann E, Bacanovic S, Zellweger C, Peleg-Raibstein D, Pelczar P, Reik W, Burger IA, von Meyenn F, Wolfrum C. Publisher Correction: Cold-induced epigenetic programming of the sperm enhances brown adipose tissue activity in the offspring. Nat Med. 2018 Nov;24(11):1777. doi: 10.1038/s41591-018-0163-y. Erratum for: Nat Med. 2018 Sep;24(9):1372-1383. PMID: 30087436.
    4. Sun W, Dong H, Becker AS, Dapito DH, Modica S, Grandl G, Opitz L, Efthymiou V, Straub LG, Sarker G, Balaz M, Balazova L, Perdikari A, Kiehlmann E, Bacanovic S, Zellweger C, Peleg-Raibstein D, Pelczar P, Reik W, Burger IA, von Meyenn F, Wolfrum C. Author Correction: Cold-induced epigenetic programming of the sperm enhances brown adipose tissue activity in the offspring. Nat Med. 2018 Nov;24(11):1776. doi: 10.1038/s41591-018-0162-z. Erratum for: Nat Med. 2018 Sep;24(9):1372-1383. PMID: 30087435.
    5. Sun W, Dong H, Becker AS, Dapito DH, Modica S, Grandl G, Opitz L, Efthymiou V, Straub LG, Sarker G, Balaz M, Balazova L, Perdikari A, Kiehlmann E, Bacanovic S, Zellweger C, Peleg-Raibstein D, Pelczar P, Reik W, Burger IA, von Meyenn F, Wolfrum C. Cold-induced epigenetic programming of the sperm enhances brown adipose tissue activity in the offspring. Nat Med. 2018 Sep;24(9):1372-1383. doi: 10.1038/s41591-018-0102-y. Epub 2018 Jul 9. Erratum in: Nat Med. 2018 Aug 7;: Erratum in: Nat Med. 2018 Aug 7;: PMID: 29988127.
    6. Dalmas E, Lehmann FM, Dror E, Wueest S, Thienel C, Borsigova M, Stawiski M, Traunecker E, Lucchini FC, Dapito DH, Kallert SM, Guigas B, Pattou F, Kerr-Conte J, Maechler P, Girard JP, Konrad D, Wolfrum C, Böni-Schnetzler M, Finke D, Donath MY. Interleukin-33-Activated Islet-Resident Innate Lymphoid Cells Promote Insulin Secretion through Myeloid Cell Retinoic Acid Production. Immunity. 2017 Nov 21;47(5):928-942.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2017.10.015. PMID: 29166590.
    7. Weber SN, Bohner A, Dapito DH, Schwabe RF, Lammert F. TLR4 Deficiency Protects against Hepatic Fibrosis and Diethylnitrosamine-Induced Pre- Carcinogenic Liver Injury in Fibrotic Liver. PLoS One. 2016 Jul 8;11(7):e0158819. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158819. PMID: 27391331; PMCID: PMC4938399.
    8. Mu X, Pradere JP, Affò S, Dapito DH, Friedman R, Lefkovitch JH, Schwabe RF. Epithelial Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling Does Not Contribute to Liver Fibrosis but Protects Mice From Cholangiocarcinoma. Gastroenterology. 2016 Mar;150(3):720-33. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2015.11.039. Epub 2015 Nov 26. PMID: 26627606; PMCID: PMC6490681.
    9. Mederacke I, Dapito DH, Affò S, Uchinami H, Schwabe RF. High-yield and high-purity isolation of hepatic stellate cells from normal and fibrotic mouse livers. Nat Protoc. 2015 Feb;10(2):305-15. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2015.017. Epub 2015 Jan 22. PMID: 25612230; PMCID: PMC4681437.
    10. Bosma M, Dapito DH, Drosatos-Tampakaki Z, Huiping-Son N, Huang LS, Kersten S, Drosatos K, Goldberg IJ. Sequestration of fatty acids in triglycerides prevents endoplasmic reticulum stress in an in vitro model of cardiomyocyte lipotoxicity. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2014 Dec;1841(12):1648-55. doi: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2014.09.012. PMID: 25251292; PMCID: PMC4342292.
    11. Huebener P, Gwak GY, Pradere JP, Quinzii CM, Friedman R, Lin CS, Trent CM, Mederacke I, Zhao E, Dapito DH, Lin Y, Goldberg IJ, Czaja MJ, Schwabe RF. High- mobility group box 1 is dispensable for autophagy, mitochondrial quality control, and organ function in vivo. Cell Metab. 2014 Mar 4;19(3):539-47. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.01.014. PMID: 24606906; PMCID: PMC4099361.
    12. Affò S, Morales-Ibanez O, Rodrigo-Torres D, Altamirano J, Blaya D, Dapito DH, Millán C, Coll M, Caviglia JM, Arroyo V, Caballería J, Schwabe RF, Ginès P, Bataller R, Sancho-Bru P. CCL20 mediates lipopolysaccharide induced liver injury and is a potential driver of inflammation and fibrosis in alcoholic hepatitis. Gut. 2014 Nov;63(11):1782-92. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2013-306098. Epub 2014 Jan 10. PMID: 24415562; PMCID: PMC4092046.
    13. Pradere JP, Kluwe J, De Minicis S, Jiao JJ, Gwak GY, Dapito DH, Jang MK, Guenther ND, Mederacke I, Friedman R, Dragomir AC, Aloman C, Schwabe RF. Hepatic macrophages but not dendritic cells contribute to liver fibrosis by promoting the survival of activated hepatic stellate cells in mice. Hepatology. 2013 Oct;58(4):1461-73. doi: 10.1002/hep.26429. Epub 2013 Aug 9. PMID: 23553591; PMCID: PMC3848418.
    14. Mederacke I, Hsu CC, Troeger JS, Huebener P, Mu X, Dapito DH, Pradere JP, Schwabe RF. Fate tracing reveals hepatic stellate cells as dominant contributors to liver fibrosis independent of its aetiology. Nat Commun. 2013;4:2823. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3823. PMID: 24264436; PMCID: PMC4059406.
    15. Troeger JS, Mederacke I, Gwak GY, Dapito DH, Mu X, Hsu CC, Pradere JP, Friedman RA, Schwabe RF. Deactivation of hepatic stellate cells during liver fibrosis resolution in mice. Gastroenterology. 2012 Oct;143(4):1073-83.e22. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2012.06.036. Epub 2012 Jun 27. PMID: 22750464; PMCID: PMC3848328.
    16. Dapito DH, Mencin A, Gwak GY, Pradere JP, Jang MK, Mederacke I, Caviglia JM, Khiabanian H, Adeyemi A, Bataller R, Lefkowitch JH, Bower M, Friedman R, Sartor RB, Rabadan R, Schwabe RF. Promotion of hepatocellular carcinoma by the intestinal microbiota and TLR4. Cancer Cell. 2012 Apr 17;21(4):504-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2012.02.007. PMID: 22516259; PMCID: PMC3332000.
    17. Kluwe J, Wongsiriroj N, Troeger JS, Gwak GY, Dapito DH, Pradere JP, Jiang H, Siddiqi M, Piantedosi R, O'Byrne SM, Blaner WS, Schwabe RF. Absence of hepatic stellate cell retinoid lipid droplets does not enhance hepatic fibrosis but decreases hepatic carcinogenesis. Gut. 2011 Sep;60(9):1260-8. doi: 10.1136/gut.2010.209551. Epub 2011 Jan 27. PMID: 21278145.
    18. Pradere JP, Troeger JS, Dapito DH, Mencin AA, Schwabe RF. Toll-like receptor 4 and hepatic fibrogenesis. Semin Liver Dis. 2010 Aug;30(3):232-44. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1255353. Epub 2010 Jul 21. PMID: 20665376; PMCID: PMC4099360.