Jul 8, 2014
By Chris Shaw
Mawadda Al-Naeeli, assistant professor of biological sciences at Ohio University Zanesville, published in the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Journal. The electronic version of the article was released in late spring with the print version due out this month.
As a result of that publication, her expertise was sought out by MedicalResearch.com, a resource geared toward the busy practitioner or member of the interested public. The editors of MedicalResearch.com select key journal articles and publish interviews from the designated researchers in a standardized format familiar to members of the broad medical community.
Al-Naeeli published the article entitled, “Erythropoietin [EPO] signaling: A novel regulator of white adipose tissue inflammation during diet-induced obesity,” with colleagues Bruce M. Raaka, Oksana Gavrilova, Ruifeng Teng, Tatyana Chanturiya, and Constance Tom Noguchi at the National Institutes of Health, where Al-Naeeli completed a post-doc prior to joining Ohio University Zanesville.
The work contributes support for further research to investigate the possibility of anti-inflammatory effects of EPO and its potential to improve insulin sensitivity. In addition, the work on EPO therapy may have a connection to increased tumor growth reported in some cancer patients receiving high dose EPO therapy to treat anemia, especially in light of the strong correlation between tumor infiltrating macrophages and poor prognosis.
Al-Naeeli is active in research collaboration with the Diabetes Institute at Ohio University in Athens, in addition to her continued work with NIH. In the classroom, she encourages her students to engage in research activities to spark interest beyond the textbook content.