Dr. Kevin Kelley, Ph.D.
Education:
A.B. Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. (1986)
M.S. Endocrinology, University of California, Berkeley. (1988)
Ph.D. Endocrinology, University of California, Berkeley. (1992)
Research interests:
My laboratory is interested in both fundamental and evolutionary aspects of the endocrine regulation of growth and metabolism in vertebrates. Our research in growth regulation centers around the role of the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and, in particular, their regulatory binding proteins (IGFBPs). The IGFBPs are recognized as centrally important growth regulators through their effects on the bioavailability and distribution of the potent growth stimulators, IGF-I and IGF-II. Current projects in the lab emphasize the functions of the IGFBPs at the cell membrane level, in addition to their regulation by endocrine and metabolic factors. Our research in metabolic regulation centers around a unique model of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in a teleost fish, the goby Gillichthys mirabilis, in which pancreatic glucagon is removed simultaneously with insulin. The lack of pancreatic glucagon results in a substantial delay in the onset of a diabetic symptomatology (e.g., high blood glucose) and therefore provides the only known opportunity to characterize the metabolic, "diabetogenic" influences of certain hormones in the absence of interference by endogenous glucagon. In addition, novel experiments to understand and characterize the cellular insulin-regulated glucose transporter system in a non-endothermic vertebrate are facilitated by the use of the diabetic goby model.