Gergö Szanda, M.D., Ph.D.

Email:

gszanda@iu.edu

Department:

Mackie Lab

Campus:

IU Bloomington

Biography

Dr. Szanda is a Visiting Associate Research Scientist in the Mackie Lab at Indiana University Bloomington. He received his M.D. ad Ph.D. from Semmelweis University in Hungary. During his Ph.D. training, he developed a special interest in mitochondrial calcium homeostasis, how it shapes insulin and steroid production, and how its dysregulation leads to cellular damage such as that seen in dominant optic atrophy. Then, during his postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH, he studied how an overactive endocannabinoid system drives tissue damage and leads to the loss of insulin producing β-cells and deterioration of glomerular function in diabetes. Lately, his research focuses on the mechanisms by which cannabinoids obstruct the signaling of anorexigenic leptin and contribute to the development of weight gain and obesity.