Isabella James, an IPiB graduate student, will be defending her Ph.D. research on June 19, 2026. Her research in the Simcox Lab focused on ceramides, a class of lipids, investigating their synthesis and how they move among tissues.
James found that when mice are stressed through cold exposure, ceramide levels increase in blood plasma. When drugs were administered to inhibit ceramide synthesis, mice were unable to maintain their body temperature. James also identified that ceramides are taken up into brown adipose tissue, which generates body heat during cold exposure.
“Ceramides have primarily been studied in the context of obesity and diabetes. There isn’t a lot of work done yet on their role in normal physiology,” says James. “That leaves us with the question: what is the mechanism by which ceramides are allowing mice to maintain their body temperature?”
While James identified dozens of proteins that may be involved in this process, exactly how ceramides help to generate heat in brown adipose tissue is still unknown.
James came to IPiB with an interest in studying metabolism using mass spectrometry, having performed undergraduate research on similar topics at Brigham Young University and a summer internship at the University of Utah’s Metabolomics Core Facility. After she graduates, she hopes to continue working in the field of metabolism.
To learn more about James’s research, attend her Ph.D. defense, “Very long-chain ceramides promote energy expenditure in brown adipose tissue” on Friday, June 19 at 11:00 a.m. CT in room 1211 of Hector F. DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Building.
Written by Renata Solan.