I'm a neuroscientist at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, where I study how the brain senses what we eat and regulates metabolism, feeding behavior, and body weight. My lab discovered that FGF21 acts as a hormone that tells the brain when dietary protein is low, coordinating everything from food choice to longevity. Animals lacking this signal essentially don't "know" they're protein deficient.
Beyond running my own lab, I lead basic science research operations at Pennington as Associate Executive Director, overseeing 20+ faculty teams and helping translate complex biology into strategic research directions. I also direct our Animal Metabolism and Behavior Core, a preclinical phenotyping platform that delivers ~19,000 service hours annually to research teams across the institution and industry partners.
I grew up in Louisiana, did my PhD in reproductive physiology at Mizzou, postdoc in metabolism at University of Washington with Mike Schwartz, and have been at Pennington ever since.
Education
PhD, Reproductive Physiology & Neuroendocrinology
University of Missouri, 2001
BS, Animal Science
Louisiana State University, 1997