Sabrina Diano Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Neurobiology » Neuroscience  » Doctor of Biological Sciences University of Naples 1993; Ph.D. University of Naples 1998. Dr. Diano's research focuses on hypothalamic mechanisms relating to the regulation of metabolism, with emphasis on thyroid feedback and local thyroid hormone production and action in the hypothalamus. In particular, she has been studying the relationship between thyroid hormone-producing hypothalamic glial cells and neurons of the melanocortin system that express uncoupling proteins. The results of her research have important implications for understanding the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, that are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Coppola, A., et al. (2007). A central thermogenic-like mechanism in feeding regulation: an interplay between arcuate nucleus T3 and UCP2. Cell Metabolism 5:21-33. Gao, Q., et al. (2007). Anorectic estrogen mimics leptin's effect on the rewiring of melanocortin cells and Stat3 signaling in obese animals. Nat. Med. 13(1):89-94. Diano, S., et al. (2006). Ghrelin controls hippocampal spine synapse density and memory performance. Nature Neuroscience 9(3):381-8. Coppola, A., Hughes, J., Schiavo, L., Esposito, E., Meli, R., and Diano, S. (2005). Suppression of hypothalamic deiodinase type II activity blunts TRH mRNA decline during fasting. FEBS Lett. 579(21):4654-8. Coppola, A., Meli, R., and Diano, S. (2005). Inverse shift in circulating corticosterone and leptin levels elevates deiodinase type 2 in fasted arcuate nucleus. Endocrinology 146(6):2827-33. Horvath, T.L., and Diano, S. (2004). The floating blueprint of hypothalamic feeding circuits. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 5(8):662-667.