Bio:

Dr. Pezeshki is an Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University (OSU). Dr. Pezeshki obtained his Ph.D. in Veterinary Sciences (physiology discipline) from Ghent University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. In 2011, he started postdoctoral training in the Gastrointestinal Research Group, Calvin, Phoebe and Joan Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and the Department of Production Animal Health at University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. In 2016, he joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at OSU and in July 2022, he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Dr. Pezeshki teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, and his primary research interest is on the role of liver-derived factors or hepatokines in regulation of hepatic glucose metabolism. In particular, his laboratory is interested in unraveling the hepatic pathways that can define the compelling metabolic effects of dietary branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) restriction by focusing on hepatokines. Adel is a member of several professional societies including American Society for Nutrition and serves as an associate editor on the editorial board of Gut Endocrinology and Metabolic Endocrinology for Frontiers in Endocrinology and he is on the reviewer board of Nutrients.

Research Interests:

Liver plays an essential role in regulation of systemic glucose homeostasis. Hepatic insulin signaling is crucial for maintenance of normal glucose homeostasis through suppressing gluconeogenesis and promoting glycogenesis. Therefore, hepatic insulin resistance can contribute to hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. We have demonstrated that dietary branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) restriction improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, increases hepatic insulin signaling and suppresses gluconeogenesis in the liver [1, 2]. My laboratory is interested in unraveling the hepatic pathways that can define the compelling metabolic effects of dietary BCAA restriction by focusing on known and novel hepatokines.

Several proteins are predominantly and exclusively secreted by liver. These liver-derived proteins or hepatokines have some inconclusive roles in hepatic glucose metabolism and insulin signaling. My lab is focused on: 1) examining whether known or novel hepatokines are required for BCAA restriction-induced improvement in glucose metabolism and insulin signaling in the liver, 2) characterizing the pathways by which BCAA restriction induces these hepatokines, and 3) assessing the role of these hepatokines or new liver-derived factors in regulation of systemic glucose homeostasis when BCAA restricted diets are offered. To this end, our lab employs a variety of techniques such as genome editing in cell culture-based systems and animal models, and transcriptomics. The long-term goal of our program is to identify novel therapeutics for the treatment of diabetes.