The event will take place August 6, 2010, in the Medical Sciences Building. Oral presentations will begin at 9 a.m. and poster presentations will begin at noon. Dr. Reusch’s lecture, “Cyclic AMP Response Element Binding Protein: An Unexpected Journey in Translational Medicine,” will take place at 11 a.m. in the Medical Sciences Building Auditorium.
Dr. Reusch also serves as a staff physician and director of the Diabetes Team and Microscopy Core at the Denver VA Medical Center.
She made the fundamental observation that CREB, the cAMP Response Element Binding Protein, is a pivotal intermediate through which diabetes, hyperglycemia and oxidative stress exert their detrimental effect on cellular differentiation. Inappropriate regulation of CREB expression and phosphorylation leads to de-differentiation or death of many cells and target organs. She initially identified that insulin promoted CREB activation. This aspect of insulin action is critical for the insulin-induced differentiation of pre-adipocytes into mature adipocytes. Diabetes leads to an inappropriate regulation of CREB, which contributes to diabetic complications by loss of differentiation, promotion of apoptosis and ineffective metabolic adaptation.
Dr. Reusch has received numerous honors and awards including the Research Associate Award from the Veterans Administration and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Research Award. She served as president of the American Federation of Medical Research. Dr. Reusch is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Dr. Reusch received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota. She conducted her internship and residency training at the University of Colorado Affiliated Hospitals and completed a fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
The USA Summer Research Program is a 10-week program that allows medical students to gain a better appreciation for biomedical research and the contribution it makes to the applied science that is needed to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
For more information, contact Natalie Kent at (251) 461-1548.
