Titles
- Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Linked information
- dlm16(at)uw.edu
Departments
Roles
BMHA Training Faculty, HALO Faculty
Dr. Miller’s lab uses C. elegans to define relationships between proteostasis, the responses to hypoxia and hydrogen sulfide, and fasting. This work is also at the crux of understanding the relationships between stress response and aging. She has found that protein homeostasis is disrupted by exposure to specific hypoxic O2 concentrations [66]. One goal of this work is to identify molecular factors that play a role in mediating the effects of these environmental conditions on proteostasis and aging. She has found that adaptation to hydrogen sulfide reduces the effect of hypoxia on protein homeostasis, even when administered after the hypoxic exposure. Recently, she has also discovered that that the normal activity of AMPK in hypoxia is to preserve metabolic homeostasis. In her studies of the molecular responses to hydrogen sulfide exposure, she has discovered a novel interaction between the hypoxia inducible transcription factor, HIF-1, and SKN-1, the C. elegans orthologue of Nrf2 . She has also discovered that exposure to hydrogen sulfide establishes an epigenetic bookmark that facilitates the robust transcriptional response to subsequent hydrogen sulfide exposure. Dr. Miller has received several awards for her innovative work on aging biology, including a Glenn Award and an Ellison New Scholar in Aging Award.
