Biography
Dr. Tessem received his Bachelors degree in Microbiology from Brigham Young University in 2001 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 2007. Dr. Tessem completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Christopher Newgard at the Duke University Medical Center's Sarah W. Stedman Center for Nutrition and Metabolism Research in Beta Cell Biology.
Research Interests
Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are caused by a relative insufficiency in functional β-cell mass. Current therapeutic options for diabetes include daily insulin injections to maintain normoglycemia, pharmacological agents to stimulate β-cell function and enhance insulin sensitivity, or islet transplantation. A major obstacle to greater application of islet transplantation therapy is the scarcity of human islets. Thus, new methods for expansion of β-cell mass, applied in vitro to generate the large numbers of human islet cells needed for transplantation, or in situ to induce expansion of the patients remaining β-cells, could have broad therapeutic implications for this disease. To this end, our lab is interested in delineating the molecular pathways that increase β-cell proliferation, enhance glucose stimulated insulin secretion, and protect against β-cell death.Teaching Interests
My teaching interests focus on molecular biology, microbiology, metabolism, biochemistry and cellular function. I am interested in metabolic disorders that cause human diseases.Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Beta Cell Biology , Duke University (2013)
- Ph.D., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Biophysics and Genetics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (2007)
- BS, Microbiology , Chemistry and Portugues, Brigham Young University (2001)
Licenses and Certifications
- The Jackson Laboratory, Surgical Techniques in the Laboratory Mouse (2021 - Present)
Honors and Awards
- Outstanding Research Award, BYU Life Sciences College (2022 - Present)
- Skaggs Distinguished Mentoring Fellowship, BYU Life Science College (2020 - 2023)
- 2018 Meg Award, BYU ORCA (2018 - 2019)
- Innovative Basic Science Award, American Diabetes Association (2017 - 2019)
- Research Award, Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation (2017 - 2018)
- 2016 MEG Recipient, BYU ORCA (2016 - 2018)
- JDRF Utah Chapter Hope for the Future Award, Utah Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2016 - 2017)
- Beta Cell Biology Consortium Investigator Scholarship, Beta Cell Biology Consortium (2011 - 2011)
- Keystone Symposium/NIDDK Scholarship, Keystone Symposium (2010 - 2010)
Memberships
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017 - Present)
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2017 - Present)
- American Heart Association (2014 - Present)
- American Physiological Society (2014 - Present)
- American Society for Nutrition (2014 - Present)
- Danish Diabetes Academy (2014 - Present)
- American Diabetes Association (2011 - Present)
Professional Citizenship
- Editorial Review Board Member, Frontiers in Endocrinology, Diabetes: Study of Pancreatic Islets Based on Human Models to Understand Pathogenesis of Diabetes (2021 - Present)
- Editorial Review Board Member, Nutrition Research (2021 - Present)
- Editorial Review Board Member, Biology Journal (2020 - Present)
- Editorial Review Board Member, Pharmaceutical Journal (2020 - Present)
- Editorial Review Board Member, Frontiers in Endocrinology, Diabetes: Molecular Mechanisms (2019 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Diabetes Journal (2016 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Molecular Cell Biology (2016 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, PLOS ONE Journal (2016 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism (2016 - Present)
- Committee/Council Member, JDRF (2015 - Present)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, JDRF (2013 - Present)
- Committee/Council Member, American Physiology Society-Endocrinology and Metabolism Section (2023 - 2026)
- Committee/Council Member, American Diabetes Association National Islet Biology, Development, and Function interest group (2022 - 2024)
- Committee/Council Member, American Physiology Society-Endocrinology and Metabolism Section (2020 - 2023)
- Committee/Council Member, American Diabetes Association National Islet Biology, Development, and Function interest group (2021 - 2022)
- Committee/Council Member, American Physiology Society-Communication Committee (2017 - 2020)
- Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer, NIN-NIDDK-Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology Review Panel (2016 - 2019)