Marc Montminy's team isolated a genetic switch called CREB, which reprograms genes in the liver to produce glucose during fasting. His lab was the first to demonstrate that circulating hormones like adrenaline can turn genetic switches on and off via a chemical change called phosphorylation. 

Profile

Marc Montminy focuses his research on understanding signaling molecules that help keep all the cells in the body on the same page when it comes to metabolism. Immediately after a meal, these molecules encourage cells to absorb, process and store the sugars and fats that are newly circulating in the bloodstream. During a fast, the signals switch their message, telling cells to release sugars to give the body a constant energy source. But in diabetics, these signaling molecules are no longer regulated or responded to in the right ways, causing blood sugar levels to stay too high all the time.

Montminy discovered one of these key signaling molecules, called CREB, and has described many of its functions. His lab also deciphered the role of another genetic switch, CRTC2. In healthy individuals, both are responsible for maintaining the right cycle of sugar storage and release throughout the day. Understanding how the signals—as well as many other molecules that interact directly with CREB and CRTC2—are regulated incorrectly in diabetics could reveal new targets for drugs. Montminy works to reveal these connections and mechanisms by identifying the role of different genes, studying which genes are turned up or down during different metabolic states, and testing how signaling molecules interact within isolated muscle or liver cells.