Michelle Kimple, PhD

Position title: Associate Professor, Medicine (Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism), Dirctor of the Basic Science Selective, Academic Affairs, UW SMPH

Email: mkimple@medicine.wisc.edu

Phone: 608-265-5627

Address:
4148 UW Medical Foundation Centennial Building
1685 Highland Ave

Lab Website
Kimple Lab
Michelle Kimple

Research Description

Research in the Michelle Kimple lab is focused on how the endocrine cells of the pancreatic islet of Langerhans coordinate to regulate hormone secretion in response to glucose and other stimuli; impacting whole-body fuel metabolism. The Kimple Lab is especially interested in elucidating how G protein signaling networks regulate alpha-, beta-, and delta-cell function and their response to insults such as hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and inflammation (coincident with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes) or immune infiltration (coincident with type 1 diabetes). The premise behind research in the Kimple lab is G protein-coupled receptors and their associated ligands, G proteins, and downstream effectors play key roles in early islet cell adaptation and resilience to external stressors, and that certain G protein signaling pathways become dysfunctional in the diabetic state, actively contributing to the pathophysiology of the disease and impacting the ability of certain classes of diabetes therapeutics to properly control blood glucose levels. It is the long-term goal of the Kimple Lab research program to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets to prevent or ameliorate the islet cell dysfunction of diabetes, improving the care and treatment of individuals with diabetes or preventing the disease in individuals with an underlying susceptibility.

Honors & Awards

  • Vilas Life Cycle Professorship, UW-Madison Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) & Office of the Provost, 2018
    “The COX-2/PGE2/EP3/Gi/o/cAMP/GSIS Pathway in the Islet: The Beat Goes On,” Commentary by R. Paul Robertson on Neuman et al., 2017, Diabetes 66: 1572-85.
  • UW-Madison Department of Medicine Puestow Research Award (Given to a junior member of the Medicine faculty who has made a significant research contribution towards advancing the field of medicine), 2016
  • American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Translational and Clinical Pharmacology Division Early Career Faculty Showcase, Experimental Biology, 2016
  • Featured Article of the May, 2016, Molecular Endocrinology Issue and the Endocrine Society’s 2016 “Molecular Endocrinology Outstanding Publication by a Trainee (Allison Brill)
  • Nominee, UW-Madison Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring, 2015
  • Mentor, American Diabetes Association Undergraduate Internship Award (Mark Cadena), 2015
  • Mentor, ASPET Zannoni Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Award (Allison Brill), 2013
  • Mentor, UW-Madison Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship (Harpreet Brar), 2012
  • American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)/Journal of Biological Chemistry Best Poster Award, Drug Development Category, Experimental Biology, 2012

Selected Publications

(Dr. Kimple’s full PubMed Publications)