Dr. Brunengraber, who is often referred to as “Dr. B.” by his students, received his MD and doctorate in biochemistry from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

He is currently serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Case Western Reserve University - a position he has held since he joined the School of Medicine and the former Mt. Sinai Medical Center in 1990.

Earlier this year, Dr. Brunengraber was named the first person to hold the Mt. Sinai Auxiliary Commemorative Chair in Nutrition Research.  The professorship was made possible by a grant from the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation to commemorate the Mt. Sinai Community Partnerts, formely the Mt. Sinai Auxiliary.

When he is not teaching courses in biochemistry, Dr. B. can usually be found discussing research strategies and protocols with his graduate students in the laboratory he runs on the second floor of the University West Building.

The laboratory conducts research in BASIC and APPLIED Nutritional Biochemistry

OUR BASIC INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE:
(i) Regulation of the pathways of ketone body metabolism, citric acid cycle and gluconeogenesis, with an emphasis on identifying artifacts of measurement of metabolic fluxes by isotopic techniques.

(ii) Development of techniques for non-invasive determination of the labeling pattern of liver metabolites in healthy and diabetic humans (non-invasive chemical biopsy of the liver).

(iii) Regulation of malonyl-CoA metabolism in mammalian tissues, emphasing intracellular compartmentation and turnover of malonyl-CoA.

(iv) Exploration of the biochemical basis of new dietary strategies for the treatment of inborn disorders of fatty acid oxidation.

OUR APPLIED INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE THE DESIGN OF NEW COMPOUNDS FOR:
(i) Total intravenous nutrition, promoting brain maturation in premature babies, and treatment of intractable epilepsy.

(ii) Prevention of reperfusion injury after myocardial infarction, stroke, and organ transplantation (traps for reducing equivalents and peroxide radicals).

(iii) Development of compounds for preventing and/or treating oxidative damage to the skin (pyruvate esters and thioesters).

(iv) Treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis.

All of the above projects make extensive use of animal models (isolated perfused livers and hearts, in vivo preparations) and stable isotope technology (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance).



Post-Doctoral Research Training Opportunities with Dr. Brunengraber


Pre-Doctoral Research Training Opportunities with Dr. Brunengraber