Emily Day
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Assistant Professor H.BSc: McMaster University Office: Medical Sciences Building, Room 257
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Academic Journey
I did my Honours B.Sc. in Biochemistry with a specialization in biomedical research at McMaster University. My labs during these years focused on overexpression of proteins in E. coli and purifying them and I really enjoyed this concept. In my fourth year, I completed my thesis project on insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes with a multitude of pharmaceuticals. This directed me to start my Master’s at McMaster University where I then transitioned right into my PhD where I examined aspects of whole-body metabolism, metabolic disease and immunometabolism. My PhD explored the effects of glucose lowering, AMPK activating drugs and small molecules on food intake, energy expenditure, and the development of atherosclerosis. My research had a strong focus on the role of macrophage AMPK in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. One key study from my PhD examined Metformin, which is the most common medication for diabetics, and its effect on body weight, finding that they were mediated through a hormone called GDF15. For my postdoc, I wanted to complete more immunology training, focusing on the role of immune cell metabolism on their cytokine secretion and function. Therefore, I decided to go to Ireland to work with Luke O’Neill where I examined the role of Itaconate (a macrophage specific metabolite derived from the Krebs cycle), and how it can regulate body weight.
Why Science (or Why Research)?
I have always liked science as a kid in elementary school and enjoyed both biology and chemistry classes in high school. Specifically, in grade 12, we had a large project where the main outcome was a biochemical pathway poster (drawn by hand) examining many aspects of cellular metabolism (glycolysis, TCA cycle, urea cycle etc.), which really sparked my interest in biochemistry. This project was a lot of work, but I was very proud of it, and still have that poster saved today. In university, I enjoyed all my biology and chemistry classes, but I can distinctly remember learning about cholesterol and lipid synthesis and the elegant feedback mechanisms described by Brown and Goldstein and remember thinking how fascinating those discoveries were and how interesting it must be to conduct those types of experiments. I especially enjoy the ‘puzzle’ or problem-solving aspect of research and find discovering the unknown very motivating. Furthermore, I strongly believe that basic science research has an important contribution to helping others through understanding fundamental biological pathways and processes to develop novel medications and therapeutics.
Research/Teaching Goals
My lab is currently interested in studying two different aspects of immunometabolism first, examining the metabolism of immune cells and how this affects their functions such as cytokine production as well as effector functions like preventing infection. Secondly, we are interested in how these immune cells then go onto influence whole body metabolism and how this can contribute to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, MASLD and atherosclerosis.
Specific Research Interests
1) We focus on how mitochondrial stress contributes to and influences immune cell cytokine production which can lead to inflammation.
2) We look at the integration of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic stress pathways.
3) We also aim to look at how these mitochondrial and stress pathways in immune cells can regulate whole body metabolism.
Most Rewarding Moments
One of my most rewarding moments was the publication of our work on Metformin and GDF15. This was an important project in the Steinberg lab with many collaborators, and I can remember doing the last set of revision experiments and reading the ELISA data at the end of the day, being able to see that our experiments worked, and that our hypothesis was correct after a lot of troubleshooting, was a very rewarding moment. I find a lot of joy in figuring things out when they don’t necessarily work out the first time around, the troubleshooting and the optimization of experiments and protocols makes the successes that much more rewarding.
Advice to Students
Take advantage of opportunities! Make sure you are doing something you enjoy and find interesting or rewarding! Do things to expand your horizons. Try out different courses to see what you enjoy and what different avenues have to offer.
Interests Outside of Academia
I love to bake and am currently taking a baking class! I also love puzzles and board games. I also love to take walks by the river.
Awards and Recognitions:
Banting Post-Doctoral Fellow (Canadian Institute of Health Research)
June 2022- January 2024
AMPK From Mechanisms To New Therapies – Top Poster Award
September 2018
Michael G. DeGroote Doctoral Scholarship of Excellence
September 2016- August 2019
Highlighted Publications:
Day EA, Townsend LK, Rehal S, Batchuluun B, Wang D, Morrow MR, Lu R, Lundenberg L, Lu JH, Desjardins EM, Raphenya AR, McArthur AG, Fullerton MD, and Steinberg GR. Macrophage AMPKβ1 activation by PF-06409577 reduces the inflammatory response, cholesterol synthesis and atherosclerosis in mice. iScience (2023). 26(11).
Diskin C*, Day EA*, Henry CO, Toller-Kawahisa JE, and O’Neill LAJ. 4-Octyl itaconate and dimethyl fumarate induce secretion of the anti-inflammatory protein annexin A1 via NRF2. Journal of Immunology (2023). 211 (6): 1032–1041.
Day EA, and O’Neill LAJ. Protein targeting by the itaconate family in immunity and inflammation. Biochemical Journal (2022). 479 (24), 2499-2510
Hooftman A*, Peace CG*, Ryan DG*, Day EA, Yang, M, McGettrick AF, Yin M, Montano NM, Huo L, Toller-Kawahisa JE, Zecchini V, Ryan TAJ, Bolado-Carrancio A, Casey AM, Prag HA, Costa ASH, De Los Santos G, Ishimori M, Wallace DJ, Venuturupalli S, Nikolopoulos E, Frizzell N, Johansson C, Von Kriegsheim A, Murphy MP, Jefferies C, Frezza C, O’Neill LAJ. Macrophage fumarate hydratase restrains mtRNA-mediated interferon production. Nature. (2023). 615 (7952), 490-498.
Day EA*, Ford RJ*, Smith BK, Mohammadi-Shemirani P, Morrow MR, Gutgesel RM, Lu R, Raphenya AR, McArthur AG, McInnes N, Pare G, Gerstein HC, Steinberg GR. Metformin-induced increases in GDF15 are important for suppressing appetite and promoting weight loss. Nature Metabolism (2019). 1(12):1202-1208.
