Stephen Bonasera, M.D., Ph.D., and his research group recently purchased new equipment to measure mouse metabolic rates.
He has a message for campus investigators, “If you could use such equipment for your work, just call us and we’ll show you how to use it.”
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Stephen Bonasera, M.D., Ph.D., with his new research equipment, which precisely measures mouse metabolic rates. Dr. Bonasera urges campus investigators to contact him about using the equipment for their own research. |
Tell us about the new equipment in laymen’s terms — what is it and what does it do?
The fancy name for our equipment is an “eight chamber indirect calorimeter for mouse behavioral studies.” What this equipment does in simple terms is allow us to measure a mouse’s metabolic rate with great precision. We can also measure the animal’s resting metabolic rate as well as determine the animal’s metabolic rate when it is actively moving.
Where is the equipment?
It’s in our new mouse behavior facility in the Durham Research Center II.
Who could this be useful for?
Persons interested in understanding how energy balance is regulated. This equipment is typically very useful for studies of feeding and metabolism, and related clinical problems such as obesity, diabetes, unintended weight loss (say, from Alzheimer’s disease or heart failure) and aging.
Whom should researchers contact about using this equipment?
Contact me at 559-8409. My group is happy to show investigators how to use this equipment and how to interpret the results. There is no fee to use this equipment.