Colleen M Novak, PhD
Principal Investigator
Lydia Heemstra
Tariq, Colleen, Mark, Chaitanya, & Sromona in 2014
Graduate student
Former laboratory manager & technician
- Skeletal muscle mechanisms of centrally induced muscle thermogenesis
Graduate Students:
Christina Watts
- Brain regulation of skeletal muscle thermogenesis, focusing on steroidogenic factor-1 (SF1) cells in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH)
Mark, Sromona, Colleen, Chaitanya, & Tariq at lunch in Kent
Emily Welch
- (Co-advised with Eric Mintz) Circadian/metabolic interactions in the regulation of reproduction
Lab Photo, September, 2016
From left to right: Megan Rich, Colleen Novak, Jesse Kowalski, Mark Yoder (back), Ashley Shemery (front), Erin Gorrell (back), Ashley Davis (front), Lydia Heemstra (back), and Sarah Mull (front)
Undergraduate Researchers (current) :
- Seth Barrett
- Brittany Gorrell (graduating spring 2021)
- Sydney Frigm
- Caleb Harris (graduating spring 2021)
- Jordan Smith
Past Graduate Students & Postdoc:
Erin Gorrell, 2020
- Dissertation title: Induction of skeletal muscle thermogenesis by exposure to predator odor
Ashley Davis, 2020
- Dissertation title: Comparison of metabolic effects between high aerobic capacity and low aerobic capacity in rats subjected to intermittent fasting and caloric restriction diets
Ashley Shemery, 2020
- Dissertation title: The role of steroidogenic factor 1 cells in modulating skeletal muscle thermogenesis
Jesse Kowalski, 2018
- Thesis title: Predator threat increases skeletal muscle thermogenesis and energy expenditure while modulating the response to aerobic and metabolic challenge in rats
Chaitanya K Gavini, 2015
- Dissertation title: Differential skeletal muscle energy expenditure in lean vs. obesity-prone rats
- Currently Postdoctoral Associate at Loyola University Chicago, Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology
Sromona Mukherjee, 2015
- Dissertation title: Potential mechanisms underlying adaptive thermogenesis in lean and obesity-prone rats
- Appointed Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Molecular Cardiology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic
Tariq Almundarij, 2015
Chaitanya and Tariq graduating in December, 2015
- Dissertation title: Potential role of melanocortin 4 receptor in physical activity energy expenditure in rats: Effect of calorie restriction
- Currently Chair of Department of Veterinary Medicine in the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at Al Qassim University
Charu Shukla, 2014
Charu graduating in 2014
- Dissertation title: Enhancement of brain melanocortin signaling in lean, active rats
- 2014-2016: Postdoctoral Associate at Harvard Medical School-VA Boston Healthcare System (Molecular Neuroscience Lab)
Charu with her family at graduation, 2014
Postdoctoral Associate:
Megan Rich, 2016-2017
PhD in Neuroscience, Kent State University, 2015
- Brain mechanisms modulating muscle thermogenesis, and the development of tools to manipulate this