Qi

A researcher who studies the response of fat cells to stress and its relationship to obesity and type 2 diabetes received a prestigious award from the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Ling Qi, Cornell assistant professor of nutritional sciences, was given the association's Career Development Award, which is granted biannually. The five-year, $912,500 prize is given to junior faculty members who have made significant contributions to diabetes research.

"I feel very honored to be recognized by the ADA," said Qi. "This award will support us to study an area that we know so little about -- to better understand how the stress response in fat cells affects outcomes in obesity and type 2 diabetes," he added.

The research will specifically focus on processes related to proteins that are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER -- the cell organelle where new proteins are made, folded and transported out for use by the cell -- of fat cells. Such proteins and hormones affect eating behaviors, inflammation and metabolism. But in some instances, proteins mis-fold, accumulate and overload the ER. Under such conditions, the fat cell activates a stress response to improve the ER's ability to handle mis-folded proteins for more efficient secretion.

"We believe that type 2 diabetes occur in some cases due to the mis-folding of these proteins and hormones, leading to reduced secretion into the circulation," said Qi. "We are trying to figure out if we can link and identify factors that could improve the folding environment of the ER and thereby reduce the stress and improve systemic insulin sensitivity."

The award began Jan. 1 and includes $197,500 per year over the first two years and $172,500 per year for the remaining three years.