Faculty introduction: Dr. Liza Makowski, Nutrition
| April 13, 2010 | |
| Y.Koltun
In the fall of 2009, Dr. Liza Makowski made the big move to Chapel Hill, NC to join the world-renowned faculty of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Well, let me qualify “big.” Dr. Makowski comes to us from Duke, where she completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Sarah W. Stedman Center for Nutrition and Metabolism. Though, admittedly, the physical move may not have been so great in distance, the road to a faculty appointment and research laboratory at UNC was indeed a long and windy one.
Dr. Liza Makowski recently joined the faculty at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Prior to beginning her career in nutritional biochemistry, Dr. Makowski was a biology major at Boston College, where, ironically, she found the subjects of biochemistry and molecular biology to be her least favorite. Upon graduation, she moved to California and worked for Geron, Inc, a biotech company focused on stem cells and cancer research and later, at a UC Davis neuroanatomy laboratory. Into her second year of work, Dr. Makowski’s mother was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, prompting her move home to Florida. “It was a very intense but an amazing experience,” reflects Makowski about the move to Tampa where she supported her mother through an experimental bone marrow transplant, “It certainly made me appreciate life, and put me in a good mindset for graduate school.” Soon after her mother’s health stabilized, Makowski began her doctoral work in Nutritional Biochemistry at the Harvard School of Public Health. It was this time spent in Boston that Makowski believes fostered her passion for the field: “I loved it. I felt like for the first time in my life I was around people that had similar interests.” Upon the completion of her master’s work in medical sciences and dissertation work on the role of fatty acid binding protein aP2 in atherosclerosis and macrophage biology in 2003, Dr. Makowski made the move to North Carolina.
In 2007, while serving a post-doctoral fellowship at Duke, Makowski received the five-year K99/R00 Pathway to Independence grant. This award, which aims to help young faculty move forward finding jobs and getting that first R01, was “a lifesaver” to Makowski: “It enabled me to have funding and time to pursue my passion- the macrophage!”
When searching for faculty positions, Makowski was hoping to find a collaborative atmosphere and strong academic environment much like the one that sparked her interest at Harvard. In her search, Makowski found UNC to be not only the perfect fit, but also a very homey one: “UNC reminds me of that environment. I feel like I am part of something great here at UNC. All of the administrative staff in the Department of Nutrition has been wonderful about getting my lab manager and I acclimated to UNC.”
Members of Makowski’s lab take a minute away from work in the Hooker Atrium.
Makowski’s research focuses on how metabolic stress and inflammation alters the progression of diseases, specifically obesity and cancer. The Makowski research lab hopes to learn how metabolism can be manipulated to improve the inflammatory and metabolic status of an individual. Currently, the lab has two on-going investigations involving fatty acid (FATP1) and glucose (GLUT1) transporters, specifically looking at how their presence on macrophages alters the influx of fuels into these cells during an inflammatory response. A third project in the lab is aimed at conducting a genomic and metabolic analysis of how macrophages behave in rats fed a high-fat “Cafeteria” diet. Over the past few months, the Makowski laboratory has been working hard to get settled and going: “It has taken 3 months just to get our official approval to work with chemicals and such. We have generated some data, but can’t wait to be fully functioning soon!” Dr. Makowski currently operates the lab with the help of two colleagues: Alex Freemerman, PhD and Brante Sampey, PhD. Alex Freemerman, who serves as the laboratory manager and lead research specialist, holds a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Virginia and has more than 15 years of experience in bench research focused on pre-clinical cancer drug discovery. Dr. Freemerman also arrived to UNC from Duke, where he held a Research Assistant Professor appointment in the Department of Surgery at Duke University Medical Center.
Brante Sampey works in the Makowski lab as a post-doctoral fellow. He received his doctorate in Molecular and Environmental Toxicology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 2005 and comes to UNC with a strong background in oxidative stress and carcinogenic agents. Though there are currently no other students in the lab, Dr. Makowski is working hard to recruit. “I am working on getting a website set up to get the Makowski lab out there. We are just getting on our feet, but we hope to be a fun, bustling lab generating great data soon! We have a Facebook page – become a fan!”
Though Dr. Makowski has now officially left Blue Devil territory, she isn’t so quick to write off her time at Duke, “I have not gotten Duke totally out of my system.” She has plans to collaborate with several colleagues at the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition & Metabolism Center in on-going projects as well as proposals. However reluctant she may be of abandoning all patronage to Duke, Makowski is thrilled to be here at UNC. “In just three months, I have had so many positive experiences. I felt very welcomed into our department and by people that I met in the Schools of Medicine or Pharmacy.” In fact, she has found several meetings with various UNC colleagues to show exciting potential for future projects. She has written grants in collaboration with Dr. Melissa Troester, a new faculty member in Epidemiology, and with Dr. Tom O’Connell, a professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy and researcher at the Hamner Institute. Makowski has also been in close contact with researchers at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute at Kannapolis directed by Dr. Steven Ziesel, a Kenan Distinguished Professor in the Department of Nutrition. “The amazing thing is that it was so easy and fun to write these grants with my future collaborators at UNC. A few phone calls, emails and meetings, and things just fell into place. No power struggles or territory wars! It has been just a blast to write them – now let’s cross fingers that I get them and can do these projects!”
In addition to a strong research background, Makowski comes to UNC fully prepared for her new role as an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition. Makowski was among the few doctoral students at Harvard who taught courses both within their Nutritional Biochemistry program and in the School of Medicine. In 2004, Makowski was accepted into the Preparing Future Faculty Fellowship at Duke, a prestigious program aimed at providing teaching and mentoring experiences, as well as management skills, to trainees. Through this fellowship, Makowski has been invited to lecture several courses at Elon University. At UNC, Dr. Makowski has already planned to teach a few lectures in NUTR845, a course focused on nutritional metabolism. Dr. Makowski enjoys not only the act of “spreading knowledge” but also the interaction with students- her future colleagues- that it fosters. “I have been so impressed with the students that I have met so far. Smart, friendly, driven. I have meet two moms with young kids. It is relieving to see this and know that I am in a school that has family-friendly values.”
Dr. Liza Makowski poses with her family.
In addition to her research and teaching posts, Makowski is mom to two boys aged 4 and 2 and wife to Dr. Neil Hayes, a medical oncologist at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. “They make life worth living and bring so much value to our lives. People talk a lot about work/life balance, but really it is like a see-saw. Some days you have to stay home with a sick baby running to the pediatrician’s office and the pharmacy; others you make up for lost time by working long hours. Some days I literally have a mantra running in my head to keep going- a quote from Dory in Finding Nemo, ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming’. It can be tough to juggle, but the key is to never give up and just do your best.” Even with all the stress of settling in, Makowski is insistent on making UNC not just a place of work, but also a home. “Right when I started, I headed out and bought myself UNC T-shirts, stickers and mugs.” Now that she is a Carolina Girl, you may be wondering who Dr. Makowski will be rooting for during the Duke- UNC basketball match-ups. “I know nothing about basketball! I am a baseball fan, so I have a lot to learn if I am going to be a true Tar Heel.”
To find out more about Makowski’s research interests, how you can get involved or to give her a few pointers on Carolina basketball, visit her lab on the second floor of the Michael Hooker Research Center or email her. For more about the department of Nutrition, please visit the department’s website or contact Joanne Lee.
Yulia Koltun is a Senior BSPH student in Nutrition. She works in the SPH Office of Student Affairs as a Student Assistant.
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