Luis B. Agellon

Degrees

BSc, Biology, McMaster University, 1982
PhD, Biology, McMaster University, 1986

Recruiting

Looking for a Postdoctoral Fellow - joint supervision with Professor Ryan Mailloux.

Having expertise in nutrient metabolism and redox biology would be viewed as an asset.

Short Bio

Luis Agellon received his BSc and PhD degrees from McMaster University and postdoctoral training at The Johns Hopkins University (USA).  He held faculty positions at Columbia University (USA) and University of Alberta before joining the faculty at McGill University. 

Research Interests

Our research looks at how nutrients and other compounds found in foods control genes in the body, and how ingestion of certain types of nutrients cause acquired metabolic diseases such as atherosclerosis, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and gallstone disease.  We also study how certain compounds that are naturally found in fruits and vegetables impact on gene function and promote health.  By understanding how these compounds affect metabolism, our lab hopes to develop new strategies that help to prevent or lessen the severity of acquired metabolic diseases. 

Current Research

Dr. Agellon’s research program is comprised of three themes encompassing regulation of gene function and cellular metabolism by nutrients and non-nutrient plant metabolites, cellular and organ function in health and disease, and development of in vivo models of metabolic disorders for discovery research and therapeutics development. Engineered in vivo models and cells are used to learn how nutrients and non-nutrient components of the diet are metabolized, how these compounds and their metabolites regulate gene expression and coordinate metabolic function in cells as well as in the whole organism, and how gene variations influence the efficiency of metabolism. The goal of the research program is to gain insights into the functional relationship between nutrients, genes, gene function and metabolism so that practical and effective strategies for promoting health and alleviating metabolic dysfunction can be achieved through optimized nutrition and use of bioactive components extractable from foods.

Courses

Publications

To view a list of Dr. Agellon's publications, click here.

Selection of Recent Review Articles

Importance of fatty acid binding proteins in cellular function and organismal metabolism (DOI 10.1111/jcmm.17703)

The potential role of commensal microbes in optimizing nutrition care delivery and nutrient metabolism (DOI 10.21926/rpn.2202014)

Importance of nutrients and nutrient metabolism on human health (PMCID PMC6020734)

The rise of proteostasis promoters (PMID 27797166)

Biosketch