Polgar & James Research Project

Project Title: Exercise, Exosomes & Metabolic Health in Type-2 Diabetes

Noemi Polgar

Name:  Noemi Polgar, PhD
Status:  Assistant Professor
Dept: Anatomy, Biochemistry & Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine

Noemi Polgar, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, as well as a member of the Diabetes Research Center and Cardiovasculare Research Center of the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr. Polgar has expertise in intracellular trafficking and her work revealed the important role of the exocyst trafficking complex in insulin-induced cell surface delivery of GLUT4, the major glucose transporter in skeletal muscle tissues. As a natural extension of this research, she is interested in the intracellular mechanisms regulating exercise-induced skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. As the project leader of one of the Ola HAWAII projects, she will  responsible for the overall progress of the research aimed at determining how exercise regulates the release and contents of skeletal muscle exosomes to modulate insulin sensitivity and metabolism in major metabolic tissues.

Nick James

Name:  Nicholas James
Status:  Assistant Professor
Dept: Cell & Molecular Biology, John A. Burns School of Medicine

Nicholas James, Ph.D. is  an Assistant Professor of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology as well as a member of the Diabetes Research Center of the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr. James has expertise in diverse, state-of-the-art fluorescence microscopy methodologies and has focused much of his career on the development of fluorescence methods aimed at characterizing protein-protein, protein-lipid, and vesicle trafficking in live cells. As the multiple project leader, he will be responsible for performing live-cell fluorescence microscopy methodologies to better understand exosome biogenesis and cell type-specific uptake.

Project Summary: Exercise is an effective means of improving blood glucose control in type-2 diabetes, as it increases glucose uptake through insulin-independent mechanisms in the skeletal muscle and improves insulin sensitivity for up to 48 hours post-exercise. This project will investigate how exercise stimulates the skeletal muscle to communicate with other tissues to promote an increased sensitivity to insulin. This study will lay the foundation for the therapeutic administration of skeletal muscle-derived factors to treat type-2 diabetes, a disease that disproportionately affects ethnic/minority communities, including Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders.