Peter Douglas, Ph.D. Associate Professor Endowed Title Southwestern Medical Foundation Scholar in Biomedical Research School Medical School Department Molecular Biology Graduate Programs Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics, Development and Disease, Neuroscience Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Peter Douglas, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and earned his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During his graduate studies in the laboratory of Dr. Douglas Cyr, Dr. Douglas employed a multidisciplinary approach, utilizing biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology to elucidate the mechanisms by which protein homeostasis machinery mitigates the toxicity of misfolded and aggregation-prone proteins. In 2009, Dr. Douglas joined the laboratory of Dr. Andrew Dillin at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, later transitioning to the University of California, Berkeley. His research during this period led to the discovery of novel connections between age regulation, cellular stress response pathways and the actin cytoskeletal network. Throughout his graduate and postdoctoral studies, he has been the recipient of prestigious fellowships, including those from the American Heart Association, the National Institutes of Health on Neuroplasticity of Aging, and the George E. Hewitt Medical Foundation. He was also awarded the highly competitive Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Douglas joined the faculty at UT Southwestern in 2015 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology with a joint appointment in the Department of Cell Biology. His research focuses on understanding how cellular metabolism and stress response pathways alter age regulation and the long-term consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury. In recognition of his pioneering research, Dr. Douglas received a Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recruitment award for first-time, tenure-track faculty members and was named an Endowed Scholar in Biomedical Research. Promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2022, Dr. Douglas is also a Clayton Foundation for Research Scholar and holds multiple R01 grants from both the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Education Undergraduate Uni of Colorado-Boulder (2001), Biochemistry Graduate School University of N C-Chapel Hill (2009), Molecular & Cell Biology Research Interest Cellular Energetics Lipid Sensing & Surveillance Molecular Genetics of Aging Protein Homeostasis Stress Response Signaling Traumatic Brain Injury Publications Featured Publications Loss of heat shock factor initiates intracellular lipid surveillance by actin destabilization. Watterson A, Arneaud SLB, Wajahat N, Wall JM, Tatge L, Beheshti ST, Mihelakis M, Cheatwood NY, McClendon J, Ghorashi A, Dehghan I, Corley CD, McDonald JG, Douglas PM, Cell Rep 2022 10 41 3 111493 Reduced bone morphogenic protein signaling along the gut-neuron axis by heat shock factor promotes longevity. Arneaud SLB, McClendon J, Tatge L, Watterson A, Zuurbier KR, Madhu B, Gumienny TL, Douglas PM, Aging Cell 2022 Aug e13693 Intracellular lipid surveillance by small G protein geranylgeranylation. Watterson A, Tatge L, Wajahat N, Arneaud SLB, Solano Fonseca R, Beheshti ST, Metang P, Mihelakis M, Zuurbier KR, Corley CD, Dehghan I, McDonald JG, Douglas PM, Nature 2022 05 605 7911 736-740 Glycolytic preconditioning in astrocytes mitigates trauma-induced neurodegeneration. Solano Fonseca R, Metang P, Egge N, Liu Y, Zuurbier KR, Sivaprakasam K, Shirazi S, Chuah A, Arneaud SL, Konopka G, Qian D, Douglas PM, Elife 2021 Sep 10 Trauma-induced regulation of VHP-1 modulates the cellular response to mechanical stress. Nathan Egge, Sonja L. B. Arneaud, Rene Solano Fonseca, Kielen R. Zuurbier, Jacob McClendon, Peter M. Douglas Nat Commun 2021 12 1484 Age-Onset Phosphorylation of a Minor Actin Variant Promotes Intestinal Barrier Dysfunction. Egge N, Arneaud SLB, Wales P, Mihelakis M, McClendon J, Fonseca RS, Savelle C, Gonzalez I, Ghorashi A, Yadavalli S, Lehman WJ, Mirzaei H, Douglas PM, Dev Cell 2019 12 51 5 587-601.e7 A framework for intestinal barrier dysfunction in aging. Tatge L, Solano Fonseca R, Douglas PM, Nat Aging 2023 Sep Intracellular lipid surveillance: Modulating protein dynamics through lipid sensing. Watterson A, Douglas PM, Clin Transl Med 2022 Dec 12 12 e1147 Quantitative pupillometry in patients with traumatic brain injury and loss of consciousness: A prospective pilot study. Traylor JI, El Ahmadieh TY, Bedros NM, Al Adli N, Stutzman SE, Venkatachalam AM, Pernik MN, Collum CM, Douglas PM, Aiyagari V, Bagley CA, Olson DM, Aoun SG, J Clin Neurosci 2021 Sep 91 88-92 Simultaneous Control of Endogenous and User-Defined Genetic Pathways Using Unique ecDHFR Pharmacological Chaperones. Ramadurgum P, Woodard DR, Daniel S, Peng H, Mallipeddi PL, Niederstrasser H, Mihelakis M, Chau VQ, Douglas PM, Posner BA, Hulleman JD, Cell Chem Biol 2020 Mar Results 1-10 of 25 1 2 3 Next Last Honors & Awards Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award (2022) NIH (RO1) National Institute on Aging Award (2022-2027) NIH (R01) National Institute on Aging Award (2021-2022) Welch Foundation Award (2021-2024) Clayton Medical Foundation Investigator Award (2020) NIH (R01) National Institute of Health Award (2019-2024) American Federation of Aging Research (AFAR) Young Investigator Award (2017-2019) Texas Institute of Brain Injury Research (TIBIR) Pilot Award (2017-2018) Welch Foundation Award in Chemical Biology (2017-2020) Glenn Award for Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging (2016-2018) Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members (2015) University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Endowed Scholar (2015) K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award NIH/NIA (2013-2018) George Hewitt Medical Foundation Scholar (2010-2013) Neuroplasticity of Aging Postdoctoral Training Fellowship (2009-2010) American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (2006-2008) Professional Associations/Affiliations Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine (2015)
