Principal Investigator:

Catherine Weikert Yeckel, PhD

Assistant Fellow
The John B. Pierce Laboratory

Associate Research Scientist
Internal Medicine/Endocrinology
Yale School of Public Health

Research Interests

The dramatic increase in obesity at a young age coincides with an increase risk for developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Research in our laboratory examines underlying metabolic and physiologic dysfunction in this vulnerable population. The central goal of our research is to determine specific adaptations in response to thermal and/or exercise interventions that may improve the health of individuals who are overweight/obese or who otherwise demonstrate insulin resistance.

Current Projects

The focus of current research falls into three main categories: (i) the clinical role of mild cold exposure as a nonpharmacological approach to improve the insulin sensitivity related to obesity; (ii) similarities in the mechanisms underlying adaptations resulting from mild cold exposure and exercise. iii) developing models to examine insulin resistance and secretion using exercise.

Representative Publications

DiPietro, L , Dziura, J, Yeckel CW.  Relation between abdominal obesity and early-phase hyperglycemia is modulated by hepatic insulin resistance in healthy older women.  Diabetes Care (in press).

Yeckel CW, Gulanski B, Zgorski  ML, Dziura J, Parish R, and Sherwin RS.  Simple exercise recovery index for sympathetic overactivity is linked to insulin resistance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 41(3):505-515, 2009.

DiPietro, L, Dziura, J, Yeckel, CW, Neufer, PD. Exercise and improved insulin sensitivity in older women: Evidence of the enduring benefits of higher intensity training. J Appl Physiol 100:142-149, 2006.

Yeckel CW, Gulanski B, Zgorski  ML, Dziura J, Parish R, and Sherwin RS.  Simple exercise recovery index for sympathetic overactivity is linked to insulin resistance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 41(3):505-515, 2009.

DiPietro, L ,Yeckel CW, Dziura, J. Progressive improvement in glucose tolerance following lower-intensity resistance vs. moderate-intensity aerobic training in older women. J. Physical Activity & Health. 5(6):854-869, 2008.

Burgert TS, Duran EJ, Goldberg-Gell R, Dziura J, Yeckel CW, Katz S, Tamborlane WV, and Caprio S. Short-term metabolic and cardiovascular effects of metformin in markedly obese adolescents with normal glucose tolerance. Pediatric diabetes, 9(6)567-576, 2008.

Yeckel CW, Dziura J, and DiPietro L. Abdominal obesity in older women: potential role for disrupted fatty acid reesterification in insulin resistance. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 93: 1285-1291, 2008.

Burgert TS, Taksali SE, Dziura J, Goodman TR, Yeckel CW, Papademetris X, Constable RT, Weiss R, Tamborlane WV, Savoye M, Seyal AA, and Caprio S. Alanine aminotransferase levels and fatty liver in childhood obesity: associations with insulin resistance, adiponectin, and visceral fat. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91: 4287-4294, 2006.

McCrimmon RJ, Song Z, Cheng H, McNay EC, Weikart-Yeckel C, Fan X, Routh VH, and Sherwin RS. Corticotrophin-releasing factor receptors within the ventromedial hypothalamus regulate hypoglycemia-induced hormonal counterregulation. J Clin Invest 116: 1723-1730, 2006.

Burgert TS, Dziura J, Yeckel C, Taksali SE, Weiss R, Tamborlane W, and Caprio S. Microalbuminuria in pediatric obesity: prevalence and relation to other cardiovascular risk factors. Int J Obes (Lond) 30: 273-280, 2006.

Weiss R, Taksali SE, Dufour S, Yeckel CW, Papademetris X, Cline G, Tamborlane WV, Dziura J, Shulman GI, and Caprio S. The "obese insulin-sensitive" adolescent: importance of adiponectin and lipid partitioning. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 90: 3731-3737, 2005.

Weiss R, Dziura J, Burgert TS, Tamborlane WV, Taksali SE, Yeckel CW, Allen K, Lopes M, Savoye M, Morrison J, Sherwin RS, and Caprio S. Obesity and the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. N Engl J Med 350: 2362-2374, 2004.