Research

Metabolic trade-offs during acute temperature stress in C. elegans.

Animals constantly divide their energy among growth, reproduction, storage and repair. A sudden spike or drop in temperature tests that balance. I use the nematode C. elegans to ask which metabolic routes help animals survive acute heat and cold stress, and what those routes cost them in healthspan and fat storage.

The glyoxylate shunt and icl-1

The glyoxylate shunt lets worms turn stored fat into sugar. In C. elegans, the gene icl-1 encodes the enzyme that runs this pathway, and it has been linked to longevity. I'm testing how losing icl-1 changes survival under acute heat and cold stress, and why.

Trehalose

Trehalose is a sugar that protects proteins and membranes under stress, and the glyoxylate shunt can supply the carbon to make it. I'm asking whether trehalose explains how icl-1 affects stress survival, or whether other pathways matter more.

Approaches

• Lifespan and healthspan assays under acute heat and cold stress
• Oil Red O staining and image-based fat quantification (Olympus IX85, CellProfiler, custom Python tools)
• Untargeted metabolomics, building on training at EMBL-EBI in 2026
• Single-cell RNA-seq data analysis

Lab and support

I work in the Shi Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at LSU New Orleans, advised by Dr. Cheng Shi. My training is supported by an AGE VOYAGER Training Award from the American Aging Association and a graduate research assistantship.