29. Sweet, Drunk Monkeys

Lab Rat Chat - Episode 29 with Dr. Kyle Flippo

In this episode of Lab Rat Chat, Jeff chats with Dr. Kyle Flippo, PhD, who is a postdoc in the University of Iowa Neuroscience and Pharmacology Department.   He studies the role of endocrine signaling in the CNS in regulating metabolism, amongst other things.  One of his current research projects has explored the role of a hormone (FGF21) in suppressing alcohol consumption in monkeys. Not only is this promising for providing a treatment for alcohol use disorders, they've also found this hormone plays a major role in reducing sugar intake as well.  This research is really groundbreaking stuff and thankfully we have scientists out there like Dr. Flippo who works compassionately with laboratory animals to make these sorts of discoveries.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Dr. Flippo's extensive and impressive background and his journey to get where he's at in her career today.
• The prevalence of alcoholism in the United States and why Dr. Flippo decided to pursue this area of research.
• Why vervet monkeys are best suited to study alcohol addiction compared to rodents and why alternative models (e.g., organs on a chip, computer models, etc.) are not viable options.
• The future application of this research on the human population

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Resources & Links:

• A Molecule Tested in Higher Primates Reduced Alcohol Consumption By Half | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (bbrfoundation.org)
• Americans for Medical Progress
• Americans for Medical Progress COVID-19 Resources

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