Dr. Jonathan Sexton

Biography

The Sexton Lab focuses on phenotypic-based drug discovery, particularly for disorders related to diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome and their associated complications. The lab employs functional outcomes from various tissues and cells to guide drug discovery aimed at metabolic endpoints. Current research strategies integrate both phenotypic and molecular target-driven approaches, leveraging core competencies in pancreatic islet technologies and fatty liver disease. Major technological approaches in the lab include high content screening with automated epifluorescence microscopy, allowing for detailed biological imaging and subsequent image analysis to generate quantitative, clinically-relevant endpoints from cellular models of disease. Active research projects involve targeting tissues such as the liver for the discovery of small molecules to treat the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; pancreas projects focus on beta cell regeneration for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes; and studies in skeletal muscle aim to discover small molecules that re-sensitize muscle tissue to insulin, including research into satellite stem cell proliferation and controlling muscle phenotype in type 2 diabetes.

Research Interests