Jon Schertzer
Profile and Department: Assistant Professor, McMaster University, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests:
Research in the Schertzer lab combines biochemistry, cell biology and physiology to understand endocrine control of metabolism and cell growth in health and disease. We try to understand how endocrine factors (such as insulin and insulin-like growth factors) interact with immune signals to alter cell metabolism. We are interested in basic mechanisms controlling skeletal muscle precursor fate and muscle regeneration in both diabetes and muscular dystrophy. We are particularly interested in how external stressors engage the immune system to influence stem cell metabolism, including the side effects of drugs (such as statins) on endocrine control of glucose/lipid metabolism and muscle regeneration and myopathy. We also investigate how environmental stressors derived from the microbiota influence endocrine control of metabolism in gut stem cells and metabolic tissues.