Carol Elias, PhD

Assistant Professor
Endowed Title: Distinguished Scholar in Medical Research 2008-2012
Internal Medicine
Graduate Program: Integrative Biology
Neuroscience

Contact Information

UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75390

carol.elias@utsouthwestern.edu

Biography

I received my PhD degree from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. My main focus of interest and research, since then has been Systems Neuroscience and Neuroendocrinology. After my PhD, I came to the US and received my postdoctoral training from Dr. Clifford Saper and Dr. Joel Elmquist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. I then returned to Brazil to run my own independent laboratory, in the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University of São Paulo.

In 2006, I came to UT Southwestern for a one-year sabbatical and was invited to join the Division of Hypothalamic Research. I am currently an Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hypothalamic Research.

Education

Graduate SchoolUniversity of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Science (1997)
Graduate SchoolUniversity of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Anatomy (1994)

Research Interests

Hypothalamic pathways linking energy balance and reproduction

Publications

Featured
Leptin’s effect on puberty in mice is relayed by the ventral premammillary nucleus and does not require signaling in Kiss1 neurons.

Donato J Jr, Cravo RM, Fraz?o R, Gautron L, Scott MM, Lachey J, Castro IA, Margatho LO, Lee S, Lee C, Richardson JA, Friedman J, Chua S Jr, Coppari R, Zigman JM, Elmquist JK, Elias CF. , Journal of Clinical Investigation , January 2011; (121):355-368

Featured
Segregation of acute leptin and insulin effects in distinct populations of arcuate proopiomelanocortin neurons.

Williams KW, Margatho LO, Lee CE, Choi M, Lee S, Scott MM, Elias CF*, Elmquist JK*. , J Neuroscience , February 2010; (30):2472-9

Featured
The Ventral Premammillary Nucleus Links Fasting-induced Changes in Leptin Levels and Coordinated Luteinizing Hormone Secretion.

Donato Jr J, Silva RJ, Sita LV, Lee S, Lee C, Lacchini S, Bittencourt JC, Franci CR, Canteras NS, Elias CF. , Journal of Neuroscience , 2009; (29 (16)):5240-50

Featured
Leptin diferentially regulates NPY and POMC neurons projecting to the lateral hypothalamic area.

Elias, CF; Aschkenasi, C; Lee, CE; Kelly, JF; Ahima, R; Bjorbaeck, C; Flier, JS; Saper, CB; Elmquist, JK. , Neuron , 1999; (23):775-786

Featured
Leptin activates hypothalamic CART neurons projecting to the spinal cord.

Elias, CF; Lee, CE; Kelly, JF; Aschkenasi, C; Ahima, R; Couceyro, PR; Kuhar, MJ; Saper, CB; Elmquist, JK. , Neuron , 1998; (21):1375-1385

Chemical identity and connections of medial preoptic area neurons expressing melanin-concentrating hormone during lactation.

Rondini TA, Donato J Jr, Rodrigues BD, Bittencourt JC, Elias CF. , J Chem Neuroanatomy. , January 2010; (39):51-62

Male and female odors induce Fos expression in chemically defined neuronal population.

Donato Jr J, Cavalcante JC, Silva RJ, Teixeira AS, Bittencourt JC, Elias CF. , Physiol Behav. , January 2010; (99):67-77

Characterization of Kiss1 neurons using transgenic mouse models.

Cravo RM, Margatho LO, Osborne-Lawrence S, Donato J Jr, Atkin S, Bookout AL, Rovinsky S, Fraz?o R, Lee CE, Gautron L, Zigman JM, Elias CF. , Neuroscience , February 2011; (173):37-56

Leptin induces phosphorylation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase in defined hypothalamic neurons.

Donato J Jr, Fraz?o R, Fukuda M, Vianna CR, and Elias CF. , Endocrinology , 2010; (151):5415-5427

Neuropeptide glutamic acid-isoleucine may induce luteinizing hormone secretion via multiple pathways

Attademo, AM; Rondini, TA; Rodrigues, BC; Bittencourt, JC; Celis, ME; Elias, CF. , Neuroendocrinology , 2006; (83):313-24

Honors/Awards

Distinguished Young Researcher

President’s Research Council Award (2009)

Distinguished Scholar in Medical Research

Research Scholar Program Award - UTSW (2008)