Chung, Paluch Named 2023-24 CRF Family Research Scholars
The CRF chooses faculty members each year for the program based on their promising work in family-related research.
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Two faculty from the School of Public Health and Health Sciences are among the six 2023-24 Family Research Scholars selected by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Research on Families (CRF). The CRF chooses six faculty members each year for the program based on their promising work in family-related research. The SPHHS recipients are Soonkyu Chung, Associate Professor of Nutrition, and Amanda Paluch, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology.
The scholars will participate in an intensive year-long seminar designed to assist faculty in various stages of research, providing the opportunity for faculty and peer mentorship and national expert consultation with the goal of preparing a successful grant proposal. The current group is the twentieth cohort in the program's history.
Chung is an adipocyte biologist, and her research interest centers on regulating lipid metabolism, signaling pathways in adipocytes and preventing obesity. Her current projects examine the role of dietary factors in modulating adiposity, innate immunity and brown thermogenesis toward preventing obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Chung has been at the forefront of identifying the role of adipose tissue iron status in regulating metabolic homeostasis and brown thermogenesis. As a key component of her brown fat research, she also has a long-standing interest in developing transplantable-brown fat pads for humans as a therapeutic tool to treat Type 2 diabetes. More recently, Chung’s lab unveiled the novel signaling interaction between dietary fish oil consumption and heat therapy for metabolic improvement.
Chung will investigate heat treatment as a possible therapeutic intervention strategy to promote metabolic health against aging and menopause. Menopause is accompanied by a rapid slowdown of metabolism, resulting in an increased risk of obesity and its associated metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes. Hyperthermia therapy, like saunas or hot baths, has long been used to relieve pain and attenuate the risk of metabolic diseases in older adults. However, the scientific evidence on the benefits of hyperthermia therapy has yet to be clearly elucidated. Her preliminary work revealed that hyperthermia treatment significantly reduced diet-induced obesity by increasing energy expenditure in ‘old’ female mice. This proposal aims to investigate the underlying mechanism of hyperthermia and the extent to which it mitigates metabolic slowdown using a rodent model of menopause, which can ultimately be applied to menopausal women.
Paluch is a physical activity epidemiologist and kinesiologist with a focus on translational research of utilizing technology to monitor and promote health. She applies technology to identify and understand the benefits of physical activity in the setting of observational epidemiologic studies and as a tool for interventions. Her research targets adult populations and the prevention of chronic disease. Paluch’s recent research has focused on the number of steps per day associated with health benefits. Her results have demonstrated health benefits begin earlier than the commonly considered goal of 10,000 steps per day, in outcomes such as mortality and cardiovascular disease risk.
Paluch will investigate the relationship between volume and intensity of steps per day and cardiovascular health in older adults, with the aim of better understanding the dose-response for optimal health. Heart disease is a leading health concern and cause of death in older adults. Physical activity is an essential lifestyle component for the prevention of heart disease. The number of steps per day is a simple metric for promotion of physical activity and walking is an activity which most older adults can participate. Despite the clinical and public health utility of steps per day for promoting physical activity, there is no evidence-based step public health recommendation. To advance the field, Paluch will investigate the volume and walking pace of steps per day associated with heart health among older adults. The objective of her study is to identify the total number of steps per day to benefits heart health and determine if walking faster has additional benefits. This project will also evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of delivering remote wearable technology focused walking interventions to older adults. The long-term goal of her research is to advance clinical and population health promotion of physical activity and establish an easy to implement step-based interventions for longer, healthier lives.