Donald A. McClain, M.D., Ph.D.


McClainDonald A. McClain, M.D., Ph.D., graduated summa cum laude from Haverford College and received his MD and PhD degrees from the Rockefeller University/Cornell Medical School Biomedical Sciences Program in 1979. His thesis work was performed in the laboratory of Nobel laureate Gerald Edelman, and he also served on the faculty at the Rockefeller University. Dr. McClain then completed his training in internal medicine and endocrinology at Stanford and the University of California at San Diego, and is board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology.

Dr. McClain is currently a Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he holds the Bettilyon Chair in Diabetes Research. He served as the Director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism for eight years, then in 2008, he assumed the Directorship of the Huntsman General Clinical Research Center and became Director of the NIH-funded Center for Clinical and Translational Science. His current research program, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration, is aimed at further understanding the pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications, using both human studies and animal models. The research includes projects on the mechanisms by which excess macronutrients cause impaired insulin signaling and the mechanisms by which iron contributes to diabetes and obesity.


EDUCATION

1973 to 1979 M.D., Cornell University Medical College (Medicine), New York, New York
1973 to 1979 Ph.D., Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences (Cell Biology), Ithaca, New York

TRAINING

1985 to 1989 FELLOWSHIP, University of California - San Diego (Endo/Metabolism), La Jolla, California
1983 to 1985 RESIDENCY, Stanford University Medical Center (Internal Medicine), Stanford, California
1982 to 1983 INTERNSHIP, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Iron metabolism

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

  1. Cooksey RC, Pusuluri S, Hazel M, and McClain DA. 2006. Hexosamines Regulate Sensitivity of Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion in Beta Cells. Am J Physiol (Endocr and Metab). 290:E334-340.
  2. McClain DA, Abraham D, Rogers J, Brady R, Gault P, Ajioka R, and Kushner JP. 2006. High Prevalence of Abnormal Glucose Homeostasis Secondary to Decreased Insulin Secretion in Individuals with Hereditary Hemochromatosis. Diabetologia, 49:1661-9.
  3. Abraham D, Rogers J, Gault P, Kushner JP, McClain DA. 2006. Increased Insulin Secretory Capacity but Decreased Insulin Sensitivity after Correction of Iron Overload by Phlebotomy in Hereditary Hemochromatosis. Diabetologia. 49:2546-2551.
  4. Luo B, Parker GJ, Cooksey RC, Soesanto Y, Evans M, Jones D, McClain DA. 2007. Chronic hexosamine flux stimulates fatty acid oxidation by activating AMP-activated protein kinase in adipocytes. J Biol Chem. 282:7172-80.
  5. Abraham D, Sharma PK, Bentz J, Gault PM, Neumayer L, McClain DA. 2007. Utility of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of parathyroid adenomas for localization before minimally invasive parathyroidectomy. Endocr Pract. 2007 13:333-7.
  6. Hsueh W, Abel ED, Breslow JL, Maeda N, Davis RC, Fisher EA, Dansky H, McClain DA, McIndoe R, Wassef MK, Rabadan-Diehl C, Goldberg IJ. 2007. Recipes for creating animal models of diabetic cardiovascular disease. Circ Res. 2007 May 25;100(10):1415-27.
  7. Hai HX, Cardon CM, Swiatek WS, Cooksey RC, Smith TL, Wilde J, Boudina S, Abel ED, McClain DA, Rutter J. 2007. PAS kinase is required for normal cellular energy balance. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104, epub ahead of print.
  8. Jouihan HA, Cobine PA, Hoagland EA, Boudina S, Abel ED, Winge DR, McClain DA. 2007. Insulin deficiency associated with decreased mitochondrial function and abnormal metal distribution in a mouse model of hemochromatosis is reversed by manganese supplementation. J Mol Med, In press.
  9. Huang J, Gabrielsen JS, Cooksey RC, Luo B, Boros LG, Jones DL, Jouihan HA, Soesanto Y, Knecht L, Hazel MW, Kushner JP, McClain DA. 2007 Increased glucose disposal and AMP-dependent kinase signaling in a mouse model of hemochromatosis. J Biol Chem. 282:37501-7.
  10. Wende AR, Schaeffer PJ, Parker GJ, Zechner C, Han DH, Chen MM, Hancock CR, Lehman JJ, Huss JM, McClain DA, Holloszy JO, Kelly DP. 2007. A role for the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1alpha in muscle refueling. J Biol Chem. 282(50):36642-51.
  11. Luo B, Soesanto Y, McClain DA. 2007. Protein modification by O-linked GlcNAc reduces angiogenesis by Inhibiting Akt activity in endothelial cells. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008 Jan 3; [Epub ahead of print].
  12. Taylor RP, Parker GJ, Hazel MW, Soesanto Y, Fuller W, Yazzie MJ, McClain DA. 2008. Glucose deprivation stimulates O-GlcNAc modification of proteins through upregulation of O-linked N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase. J Biol Chem. 2008 Jan 3; [Epub ahead of print]
  13. Ruddock MW, Stein A, Landaker E, Park J, Cooksey RC, McClain D, Patti ME. 2008. Saturated Fatty Acids Inhibit Hepatic Insulin Action by Modulating Insulin Receptor Expression and Post-Receptor Signaling. J Biochem. Aug 19. [Epub ahead of print]
  14. McClain DA. 2008. Introduction to a mini-forum on “glyconutrients.” Glycobiology, in press.
  15. Soesanto YA, Luo B, Jones D, Taylor R, Gabrielsen JS, Parker G, McClain DA. 2008. Regulation of Akt signaling by O-GlcNAc in euglycemia. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. Aug 26. [Epub ahead of print]