Diano Lab
Principal Investigator
Dr. Sabrina Diano
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- Robert R. Williams Professor of Nutrition
- Director of the Institute of Human Nutrition
- Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics
Yale University
- Adjunct Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Education and Academic Career
Dr. Diano earned both her Doctor of Biology and PhD degrees from the University of Naples “Federico II” in Naples, Italy. In 1994, she moved to Yale University to pursue her interest in metabolism regulation. Her PhD in Physiology, awarded in 1999, was based on studies conducted at Yale that combined neuroendocrinology and mitochondrial biology to explore the brain’s role in energy and glucose metabolism.
She joined the Yale faculty in 2000, where she rose through the academic ranks before joining Columbia University in September 2020 to lead the Institute of Human Nutrition.
Research Focus
Dr. Diano’s research investigates how the brain regulates energy balance and glucose homeostasis. Using interdisciplinary methods—including molecular biology, neuroanatomy, biochemistry, electrophysiology, chemogenetics, and behavioral studies in rodent models—her lab explores how brain cells sense nutrients and communicate metabolic signals.
Her work aims to uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms that enable the brain to maintain metabolic balance and how disruptions in these pathways contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related metabolic disorders.
Dr. Diano’s current research also examines how metabolic dysfunction may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, as well as psychiatric conditions including anxiety and depression.
Recognition and Impact
Dr. Diano’s studies on the fundamental principles of metabolism regulation have received international recognition. She was featured in Cell Metabolism’s “Women in Metabolism: The Rosies of Cell Metabolism” 10th anniversary series and received the Helmholtz Diabetes Award (2018) from the Helmholtz Society in Germany for her work on the central control of glucose metabolism. In 2015, she was selected for the Novo Nordisk Foundation Laureate Award (which she declined). Most recently, Dr. Diano was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), recognizing her outstanding contributions to neuroscience and metabolic research.
Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in leading scientific journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Cell Metabolism, Diabetes, The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), and PNAS.
Broader Impact
By revealing how the brain governs energy and glucose regulation, Dr. Diano’s work provides crucial insight into the mechanisms underlying obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome—conditions that pose major health and economic challenges globally. Her discoveries also shed light on the metabolic dimensions of neurological and psychiatric diseases, expanding our understanding of how metabolic health shapes overall brain function.