# Signaling mechanisms that detect stress and maintain homeostasis - Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

> **NIH NIH R35** · JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER · 2024 · $37,175

## Abstract

Project Summary
 This is a proposal for a diversity supplement to the MIRA award R35GM122610 to support Ms. Reem
Hussein-Fricke, MSc, to work as a research trainee for two years in the Blackwell lab. Ms. Hussein-Fricke is a
Black woman of Sudanese origin who was previously enrolled in a PhD program at Rutgers University, but
eventually withdrew from graduate school after experiencing a series of challenging personal circumstances.
With time Ms. Hussein-Fricke has decided to follow her passion for research and re-enter PhD training in order
to pursue a career as a research scientist. This award will allow her to train and develop further as a scientist
in critical ways, and to establish herself as a competitive candidate for top graduate programs.
 The Blackwell lab studies mechanisms that maintain metabolic, protein, and lipid homeostasis, primarily
in the powerful model organism C. elegans. The parent MIRA research addresses specific functions of the
SKN-1 transcription factors, which respond to oxidative, xenobiotic, proteasomal, and metabolic stresses, and
investigates how these and other protective mechanisms influence cellular redox regulation and its effects on
the organism. Ms. Hussein-Fricke will investigate an aspect of metabolic regulation that is an exciting new
direction, how specific metabolic cues control feeding behavior and food intake. Our work in this area so far
has shown that specific nutrients and metabolites profoundly influence feeding behavior and food consumption,
and has suggested models for how this occurs. Ms. Hussein-Fricke will work with a postdoctoral fellow in the
lab who pioneered this area. They will investigate neuronal interactions through which signals we have
identified operate to control feeding, and use genetic screening approaches to identify additional metabolic
cues that influence these behaviors. This research has already begun to profoundly alter our understanding of
relationships between diet, hunger, and satiety.
 During the two-year training period Ms. Hussein-Fricke will benefit from research training, mentoring,
and educational opportunities. In the laboratory she will expand her range of research skills, including gaining
experience in neuronal functional analysis, a specific interest of hers. Most importantly, the time spent in the
lab will provide a research opportunity of sufficient depth to allow her to generate publishable work. Ms.
Hussein-Fricke will benefit from mentoring from Dr. Blackwell, lab members, and a mentoring committee, and
will be deeply steeped in a rich and exciting scientific environment. Through this environment and attendance
at scientific meetings, she will learn scientific presentation skills. During this time she will also avail herself of
courses and workshops in the greater Harvard community in order to develop her knowledge and skills in
bioinformatic and data analysis, another key interest of hers. Together, this experience will allow Ms. Hussein-
Fricke to develop...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10829723
- **Project number:** 3R35GM122610-07S1
- **Recipient organization:** JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** T Keith Blackwell
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $37,175
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-07-20 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10829723

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10829723, Signaling mechanisms that detect stress and maintain homeostasis - Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (3R35GM122610-07S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10829723. Licensed CC0.

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