Here's this week's Biomed Bites. Check each Thursday to meet more of Stanford’s most innovative biomedical researchers.
Mary Teruel had no intention of becoming a biology professor — after all, she was in a PhD program for aeronautical engineering. But the more she learned about cells, the more fascinated she became.
"I became very interested in the challenging problem of trying to understand the complex network in cells and trying to see if you could apply some of the principles from engineering to understand theses processes and make an insight into human disease," Teruel says in the video above.
Teruel's drive to investigate cells led her into her current role as an assistant professor of chemical and systems biology, where she's striving to unravel a puzzle that underlies the obesity crisis in America: How do cells called pre-adipocytes (or pre-fat cells) become adipocytes (or adipocytes)?
By learning more about cell differentiation, Teruel's research can also shed light on processes — and potential treatments — involved in cancer.
Learn more about Stanford Medicine’s Biomedical Innovation Initiative and about other faculty leaders who are driving biomedical innovation here.
Previously: Secrets of fat cells discovered, Fed Up: A documentary looks for answers about childhood obesity and How physicians address obesity may affect patients' success in losing weight
