Elucidating the Molecular Machinery of Intracellular Insulin Handling

Insulin's crucial role in the regulation of energy metabolism makes it one of the paramount anabolic
hormones in the human body. By modulating rates of glucose uptake and production, it ensures
circulating blood glucose levels are kept within a narrow range during daily rounds of fasting and
feeding. The liver is one of insulin's major target tissues that helps to ensure blood glucose
homeostasis is sustained. Hence, insulin's direct action on the liver through its receptor provides an
important layer of regulation in the maintenance of whole-body metabolic homeostasis, and its
dysregulation is closely associated with various disease complications. However, to date, many of the
mechanistic and integrated aspects associated within the hepatic insulin signalling axis remain to be
fully understood. Thus, this project aims to elucidate novel genes responsible for insulin action in the
liver, to improve the granularity of insulin signalling.
The DPhil investigation presented here aligns with the Molecules, Cells, and Industrial Biotechnology
BBSRC priority area. It aims to understand in a dynamic and integrated manner, the cellular
machinery that is involved in the insulin signalling cascade.