David Wasserman, PhD is Professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics and AM Lyle Chair of Biomedical Sciences at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Wasserman has been Director of the NIDDK Vanderbilt Mouse Meta¬bolic Phenotyping Center (MMPC) since 2001. Dr. Wasserman and his colleagues conduct research to define the site-specific regulation of metabolic control systems in health, exercise, and insulin resistance. Transgenesis, pharmacology, and unique surgical applications have been combined with isotopic approaches for tracing metabolic pathways to study the functional control of metabolism in animal models. Most recently the Wasserman laboratory has focused on how the extracellular environment contributes to insulin action. They have shown that integrin receptor-linked binding partners couple the extracellular matrix remodeling of obesity to insulin resistance. Dr. Wasserman is recipient of the Bowditch Award the Solomon Berson Award of the American Physiological Society, an NIH MERIT Award, The C.R. Park Award for Excellence in Research, and The John H. Exton Award for Research Leading to Innovative Biological Concepts.