Title
Assistant Professor
Ph.D.
The University Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Post Doc
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Research Interests:
Understanding the role of nutrient signaling in aging and neurodegenerative conditions
Research Description
Metabolism is a central pillar of life; our dietary choices directly contribute to long-term livelihood. I am interested in understanding how nutrition, metabolism, and aging intersect to affect the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. The lab’s ongoing project investigates the role of dietary protein in Alzheimer’s disease progression:
- How does dietary protein concentration affect rapamycin’s effect in the APP.PS1 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse model. Experimental protein restriction improves AD symptoms in mouse models. This is contrary to patient data, where a higher dietary protein intake appears to correlate with improved cognitive outcomes. To further understand the molecular mechanisms of dietary restrictions, I studied a diet-drug interaction between dietary isoleucine restriction and the drug rapamycin. Individually, both treatments lengthen lifespan in mice and rapamycin is being investigated as a potential AD treatment clinically. However, simultaneous treatment caused the metabolic detriments of rapamycin to override the benefits of isoleucine restriction. This work led to the identification of liver mTORC1 as a critical mediator of dietary restriction effects. As there are ongoing clinical trials for rapamycin, it is critically important to further understand how dietary protein affects the effect of the drug on AD treatment.
The Yeh Lab is new to UAMS and is looking to recruit at all levels. For inquiries, please reach out to Dr. Yeh at CYeh@uams.edu
Complete bibliography:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0970-1300
Office
Biomed II; 560-2
Slot 510
Publications
1) Ketogenesis is Dispensable for the Metabolic Adaptations to Caloric Restriction. Yeh et al. 2026 Aging Cell.
2) Late-life protein or isoleucine restriction impacts physiological and molecular signatures of aging. Yeh et al. 2024. Nature Aging.
3) Defining the Kv2.1-syntaxin molecular interaction identifies a fist-in-class small molecular neuroprotectant. Yeh et al. 2019. PNAS.