Natasha Fillmore, PhD
Assistant Professor
108B Sudro Hall
Phone 701.231.1876
Education
2010-2016 - PhD in Pharmacology, University of Alberta.
2008-2010 - M.S. in Physiology and Developmental Biology, Brigham Young University.
2005-2008 - B.S. in Physiology and Developmental Biology, Brigham Young University.
Research Interests
My lab studies how energy metabolism contributes to metabolic diseases (type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease), particularly in heart and skeletal muscle. Understanding the regulation of metabolism and its role in disease is of profound importance for understanding and developing strategies to treat these diseases. Some current research interests include:
1) Understanding the role of energy metabolism in insulin resistance.
2) The role of fatty acid signaling in regulating cardiac hypertrophy and function.
Academic and Professional Appointments
2021-Present – Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND.
2016-2021 – Postdoctoral Fellow, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
Awards and Honors
2017-2019 NHLBI Lenfant Fellowship, National Institutes of Health
2019 International Society of Heart Research Early Career Investigator Travel Award for XXIII World Congress
2019 International Society of Heart Research International Poster Prize at XXIII World Congress
2018 Will Stanley Early Career Investigator Award, Society for Heart and Vascular Metabolism
2017 NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence
2013-2016 Graduate Studentship, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions
2011-2013 Motyl Graduate Studentship in Cardiac Sciences, University of Alberta
Peer Reviewed Publications
Selected Publications
1. Fillmore N, Casin KM, Sinha P, Sun J, Ma H, Boylston J, Noguchi A, Liu C, Wang N, Zhou G, Kohr MJ, Murphy E. A knock-in mutation at cysteine 144 of TRIM72 is cardioprotective and reduces myocardial TRIM72 release. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2019 Nov; 136:95-101.
2. Fillmore N, Wagg CS, Zhang L, Fukushima A, Lopaschuk GD. Cardiac Branched-Chain Amino Acid Oxidation is Reduced During Insulin Resistance in the Heart. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 315(2018)E1046-E1052.
3. Harrington J*, Fillmore N*, Gao S*, Yang Y*, Zhang X, Stoehr A, Springer D, Zhu J, Wang X, and Murphy E. “Sex Differences in Hypertrophy: A role for PPARa.” JAHA. 6(2017): e005838.
4. Fillmore N, Levasseur JL, Fukushima A, Wagg CS, Wang W, Dyck JRB, Lopaschuk GD. Uncoupling of glycolysis from glucose oxidation accompanies the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Mol Med. 2018 Mar 15;24(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s10020-018-0005-x.
5. Murphy E, Amanakis G, Fillmore N, Parks RJ, Sun J. “Sex Differences in Metabolic Cardiomyopathy.” Cardiovasc Res. 113(2017):370-377.
6.Ussher JR*, Fillmore N*, Keung W, Zhang L, Mori J, Sidhu VK, Fukushima A, Gopal K, Lopaschuk DG, Wagg CS, Jaswal JS, Dyck JRB, and Lopaschuk GD. “Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of malonyl CoA decarboxylase protects against age-related insulin resistance in mice.” Diabetes. 65(2016):1883-91.
7. Fillmore N, Keung W, Kelly SE, Proctor S, Lopaschuk GD, and Ussher JR. “Accumulation of ceramide contributes to the development of skeletal muscle insulin resistance in the obese JCR:LA-cp rat.” Exp Physiol. 100(2015):730-41.
8. Fillmore N, Huqi A, Jaswal JS, Mori J, Paulin R, Haromy A, Onay-Besikci A, Ionescu L, Thébaud B, Michelakis E, Lopaschuk GD. “Effect of Fatty Acids on Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Energy Metabolism and Survival.” PLoS One. 10(2015):e0120257.
9. Fillmore N, Lopaschuk GD. “Targeting mitochondrial oxidative metabolism as an approach to treat heart failure.” Biochim Biophys Acta. 1833(4) (2012):857-65.
10. Fillmore N, Jacobs DL, Mills DB, Winder WW, Hancock CR. “Chronic AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Activation and a High Fat Diet Have an Additive Effect on Mitochondria in Rat Skeletal Muscle.” J Appl Physiol. 109(2010): 511-20.