Steven Shoelson talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's Emerging Research Front Paper in the field of
Biology & Biochemistry.
Article: Inflammation and insulin
resistance
Authors: Shoelson, SE;Lee, J;Goldfine, AB
Journal: J CLIN INVEST, 116 (7): 1793-1801 JUL 2006
Addresses: Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Joslin Diabet Ctr, 1
Joslin Pl, Boston, MA 02215 USA.
Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Joslin Diabet Ctr, Boston, MA 02215
USA.
Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Dept Med, Boston, MA 02215 USA.
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
We made a fundamental discovery in
diabetes research and were lucky to be able to
translate the discovery to humans.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
Based on a synthesis of knowledge and ideas, we made a discovery that has
broad implications for both pathogenesis and new treatments.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
Obesity and diabetes have reached epidemic proportions. Our studies
identified a molecular connection between them, which helped show how
obesity promotes insulin resistance and diabetes, and also identified a new
way of treating diabetes. As a result, in addition to understanding the
basic biology, we have been able to conduct increasingly large clinical
trials.
How did you become involved in this research and were
any particular problems encountered along the way?
Having worked in diabetes research for a long time, I am perhaps most
amazed and frustrated by the degree that dogma dictates areas of
investigation in the field, and the dogma is often wrong. Leaders in the
field all too often mislead the field.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
To provide new understandings of the underlying mechanisms of metabolic
disease, and new ways to treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Steven E. Shoelson, M.D., Ph.D.
Section Head, Cellular & Molecular Physiology
Department of Medicine
Joslin Diabetes Center
and
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA, USA Web