We are extremely pleased to announce that Dr. Rana Gupta has agreed to join the DMPI faculty, with an anticipated start date in the summer, 2022. Dr. Gupta’s recruitment was facilitated by a prestigious Duke Science and Technology Scholar Award, and via strong partnership between DMPI, the Department of Medicine (DOM), the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the DOM, the Department of Cell Biology, and the School of Medicine/Dean’s Office.
For the past two decades, Dr. Gupta has been making outstanding contributions to science, beginning with his PhD training with Klaus Kaestner at the University of Pennsylvania (2002-2006), as a fellow with Dr. Bruce Spiegelman at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard (2007-2012), and for the past 10 years, as an independent faculty member at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he earned the rank of tenured Associate Professor (2012-present). As an independent investigator, Dr. Gupta has built a program that has earned international recognition for its novel contributions to the field of adipose tissue development and function. He is now considered one of the preeminent investigators in the field of adipose biology, especially as it relates to pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases and the regulation of metabolic homeostasis. His expertise in adipose biology is a perfect complement to existing strengths in at DMPI, the DOM and the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in skeletal muscle, cardiac, pancreatic islet, kidney, brain, and liver metabolic functions. Moreover, Dr. Gupta’s research has contributed in critical ways to our understanding of the major regulatory effects of adipose tissue on overall metabolic homeostasis via production of secreted peptides and factors (so-called “adipokines”), and via its capacity for energy storage (white fat), or energy expenditure (beige or brown fat).
We look forward to welcoming Dr. Gupta and his family to Duke and the DMPI!