Dr. Little

My interest in metabolism began as a competitive distance runner as I became fascinated with trying to understand how the body produced energy to fuel exercise. I was first introduced to research as an undergraduate summer student working in the laboratory of Dr. Martin Gibala at McMaster University and was quickly hooked. After pursuing an MSc degree at the University of Saskatchewan focusing on sport nutrition I returned to McMaster to complete my PhD focusing on muscle mitochondrial adaptations to exercise in healthy humans and individuals with type 2 diabetes. These experiences gave me a strong background in human exercise physiology and metabolism. In my postdoctoral fellowship at UBC I explored how metabolic disruptions associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes (e.g., high glucose, hyperlipidemia) impacted inflammatory activation of isolated cells. In my current lab we combine all of these approaches to understand how the metabolic disruptions that characterize type 2 diabetes affect cellular inflammation and explore how different exercise and nutritional strategies can be used to reduce inflammation and improve overall cardiometabolic health.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND