Young-Jai You, Ph.D.

Young-Jai You, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of the Center for Hypothalamic Research.

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Dr. You holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in physiology from Yonsei University in Korea. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in genetics in feeding under Dr. Leon Avery at UT Southwestern. 

Dr. You originally joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2008 as an Instructor in the Department of Pharmacology. She later went on to be a faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and Nagoya University in Nagoya, Japan, before returning to the UT Southwestern faculty in 2020. 

Dr. You's research interests include appetite control, metabolism, and satiety behavior. Her findings have resulted in multiple clinical trials, peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters.

• Metabolic Regulation of Behavioral States
• Metabolic Regulation of Reproduction
• Neural Mechanisms of Starvation

Featured Publications

Satiety behavior is regulated by ASI/ASH reciprocal antagonism.

Davis KC, Choi YI, Kim J, You YJ Sci Rep 2018 May 8 1 6918

Fat Metabolism Regulates Satiety Behavior in C. elegans.

Hyun M, Davis K, Lee I, Kim J, Dumur C, You YJ Sci Rep 2016 6 24841

An opioid-like system regulating feeding behavior in C. elegans.

Cheong MC, Artyukhin AB, You YJ, Avery L Elife 2015 Apr 4

The Nuclear Receptor DAF-12 Regulates Nutrient Metabolism and Reproductive Growth in Nematodes.

Wang Z, Stoltzfus J, You YJ, Ranjit N, Tang H, Xie Y, Lok JB, Mangelsdorf DJ, Kliewer SA PLoS Genet. 2015 Mar 11 3 e1005027

The Geometry of Locomotive Behavioral States in C. elegans.

Gallagher T, Bjorness T, Greene R, You YJ, Avery L PLoS ONE 2013 8 3 e59865

Metabolic rate regulates L1 longevity in C. elegans.

Lee I, Hendrix A, Kim J, Yoshimoto J, You YJ, PLoS One 2012 7 9 e44720

Insulin, cGMP, and TGF-beta signals regulate food intake and quiescence in C. elegans: a model for satiety.

You YJ, Kim J, Raizen DM, Avery L Cell Metab. 2008 Mar 7 3 249-57

Lethargus is a Caenorhabditis elegans sleep-like state.

Raizen DM, Zimmerman JE, Maycock MH, Ta UD, You YJ, Sundaram MV, Pack AI Nature 2008 Jan 451 7178 569-72

Dual roles of autophagy in the survival of Caenorhabditis elegans during starvation.

Kang C, You YJ, Avery L Genes Dev. 2007 Sep 21 17 2161-71

Starvation activates MAP kinase through the muscarinic acetylcholine pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx.

You YJ, Kim J, Cobb M, Avery L Cell Metab. 2006 Apr 3 4 237-45

• National Scientist Development Grant Award, American Heart Association
  (2009)
• Finalist, Excellence in Post-Doctoral Research
  UT Southwestern Medical Center (2007)