Shannon Macauley
@macauleylab.bsky.social
Associate Prof, PhD, wife, mom. Alzheimer’s disease | metabolism | sleep| glia | I ❤️ lactate | macauleylab.com
**views are mine, not my employer**
**views are mine, not my employer**
Pinned
The Energetic Collapse of the Alzheimer's Brain: Metabolic Inflexibility Across Cells and Networks
Metabolic inflexibility in Alzheimer's disease. Schematic illustrating the biphasic trajectory of metabolic activity relative to canonical Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers. In the presymptomatic p...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Our new review is out today!
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
We argue that Alzheimer’s disease is not just a problem of brain hypometabolism, but a disorder of metabolic inflexibility.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
We argue that Alzheimer’s disease is not just a problem of brain hypometabolism, but a disorder of metabolic inflexibility.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We're very excited for our upcoming CNS Metabolism Symposium at University of Kentucky! We have a great line up of speakers, including our ATP Showcase and a keynote from Dr. Tim Ryan!
Register now!
uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Register now!
uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
November 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
We're very excited for our upcoming CNS Metabolism Symposium at University of Kentucky! We have a great line up of speakers, including our ATP Showcase and a keynote from Dr. Tim Ryan!
Register now!
uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Register now!
uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
At SFN? Check out Dr. Karina Meyer-Acosta’s talk on APOE, neurodevelopment, and network formation using organoids. We were lucky to have Kaisha join the lab earlier this fall from Dr. Jenny Hsieh’s lab for her postdoc!
November 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
At SFN? Check out Dr. Karina Meyer-Acosta’s talk on APOE, neurodevelopment, and network formation using organoids. We were lucky to have Kaisha join the lab earlier this fall from Dr. Jenny Hsieh’s lab for her postdoc!
At #SFN2025? Stop by @ncons95.bsky.social and Sierra’s posters to learn about research from the lab!
November 17, 2025 at 5:03 PM
At #SFN2025? Stop by @ncons95.bsky.social and Sierra’s posters to learn about research from the lab!
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
We are happy to announce our new preprint:
“Slow Intrinsic Oscillations in the Ventrolateral Preoptic Nucleus”
We identify <1 Hz rhythmic bursting in #VLPO neurons that persists under TTX, revealing intrinsic oscillatory mechanisms that may shape NREM #sleep dynamics.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Slow Intrinsic Oscillations in the Ventrolateral Preoptic Nucleus”
We identify <1 Hz rhythmic bursting in #VLPO neurons that persists under TTX, revealing intrinsic oscillatory mechanisms that may shape NREM #sleep dynamics.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 18, 2025 at 4:50 PM
We are happy to announce our new preprint:
“Slow Intrinsic Oscillations in the Ventrolateral Preoptic Nucleus”
We identify <1 Hz rhythmic bursting in #VLPO neurons that persists under TTX, revealing intrinsic oscillatory mechanisms that may shape NREM #sleep dynamics.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Slow Intrinsic Oscillations in the Ventrolateral Preoptic Nucleus”
We identify <1 Hz rhythmic bursting in #VLPO neurons that persists under TTX, revealing intrinsic oscillatory mechanisms that may shape NREM #sleep dynamics.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Our new review is out today!
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
We argue that Alzheimer’s disease is not just a problem of brain hypometabolism, but a disorder of metabolic inflexibility.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
We argue that Alzheimer’s disease is not just a problem of brain hypometabolism, but a disorder of metabolic inflexibility.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Energetic Collapse of the Alzheimer's Brain: Metabolic Inflexibility Across Cells and Networks
Metabolic inflexibility in Alzheimer's disease. Schematic illustrating the biphasic trajectory of metabolic activity relative to canonical Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers. In the presymptomatic p...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Our new review is out today!
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
We argue that Alzheimer’s disease is not just a problem of brain hypometabolism, but a disorder of metabolic inflexibility.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘇𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
We argue that Alzheimer’s disease is not just a problem of brain hypometabolism, but a disorder of metabolic inflexibility.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Sanders-Brown was well represented at the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐍𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥-𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐦!
@ukresearch.bsky.social @selenicalab.bsky.social @macauleylab.bsky.social #research #TDP43 #sleepdisruption #astrocytes
@ukresearch.bsky.social @selenicalab.bsky.social @macauleylab.bsky.social #research #TDP43 #sleepdisruption #astrocytes
November 7, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Sanders-Brown was well represented at the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐍𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥-𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐦!
@ukresearch.bsky.social @selenicalab.bsky.social @macauleylab.bsky.social #research #TDP43 #sleepdisruption #astrocytes
@ukresearch.bsky.social @selenicalab.bsky.social @macauleylab.bsky.social #research #TDP43 #sleepdisruption #astrocytes
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
NEW STUDY! Building on pioneering work by Dr. Alison Goate, an international team of researchers, led by #IcahnMountSinai's Anne Schaefer, ID'd distinct population of neuroprotective #Microglia that may point to new therapeutic approach for #Alzheimers. @nature.com 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 5, 2025 at 11:51 PM
NEW STUDY! Building on pioneering work by Dr. Alison Goate, an international team of researchers, led by #IcahnMountSinai's Anne Schaefer, ID'd distinct population of neuroprotective #Microglia that may point to new therapeutic approach for #Alzheimers. @nature.com 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Attentional failures after sleep deprivation are locked to joint neurovascular, pupil and cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Attentional failures after sleep deprivation are locked to joint neurovascular, pupil and cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics - Nature Neuroscience
Yang et al. show that moments of failed attention we experience after sleep deprivation reflect brief ‘sleep-like’ episodes in the brain, corresponding to a brain- and body-wide event with altered bra...
www.nature.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Attentional failures after sleep deprivation are locked to joint neurovascular, pupil and cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
While you are all waiting for treat or treaters & the blue jay game … take a look at our newest from
@bonniee-leee.bsky.social where we look at neural networks in middle aged female rats based on APOE genotype and parity history www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@bonniee-leee.bsky.social where we look at neural networks in middle aged female rats based on APOE genotype and parity history www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Sex-specific factors and APOEε4 genotype alter functional connectivity at middle age
Cognitive aging is influenced by sex and sex-specific factors. Indeed, research has shown that parity (pregnancy and parenthood) uniquely alters bioma…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:59 PM
While you are all waiting for treat or treaters & the blue jay game … take a look at our newest from
@bonniee-leee.bsky.social where we look at neural networks in middle aged female rats based on APOE genotype and parity history www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@bonniee-leee.bsky.social where we look at neural networks in middle aged female rats based on APOE genotype and parity history www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Macauley Lab- dressed to impress- at the Markesbery Symposium! @uksbcoa.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Macauley Lab- dressed to impress- at the Markesbery Symposium! @uksbcoa.bsky.social
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Loss of MFE-2 impairs microglial lipid homeostasis and drives neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s pathogenesis @nataging.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Loss of MFE-2 impairs microglial lipid homeostasis and drives neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s pathogenesis - Nature Aging
Gao, Bai and colleagues identify peroxisomal MFE-2 as an essential regulator for microglial homeostasis in Alzheimer’s disease, showing that maintaining MFE-2 reduces neuroinflammation and slows Alzhe...
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Loss of MFE-2 impairs microglial lipid homeostasis and drives neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s pathogenesis @nataging.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Our paper on CSF, BOLD, pupil, and physiological measures in sleep deprivation and recovery sleep is finally out! 🎉 Congrats Zinong! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Attentional failures after sleep deprivation are locked to joint neurovascular, pupil and cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics - Nature Neuroscience
Yang et al. show that moments of failed attention we experience after sleep deprivation reflect brief ‘sleep-like’ episodes in the brain, corresponding to a brain- and body-wide event with altered bra...
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Our paper on CSF, BOLD, pupil, and physiological measures in sleep deprivation and recovery sleep is finally out! 🎉 Congrats Zinong! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Excited to share new work from the lab showing that loss of AD risk gene Ms4a4a promotes abeta clearance and protects against amyloid plaque accumulation in a mouse model 🧠🐭 alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Excited to share new work from the lab showing that loss of AD risk gene Ms4a4a promotes abeta clearance and protects against amyloid plaque accumulation in a mouse model 🧠🐭 alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Very cool. Obesity v age impact on metabolic flux:
Re: lactate (obvi):
Aging: serum lactate concentration increases (even though whole-body lactate flux stays ~ same).
Obesity (ob/ob): serum lactate concentration increases, and lactate flux also rises strongly (~50–85% vs. lean).
Re: lactate (obvi):
Aging: serum lactate concentration increases (even though whole-body lactate flux stays ~ same).
Obesity (ob/ob): serum lactate concentration increases, and lactate flux also rises strongly (~50–85% vs. lean).
Aged mice exhibit widespread metabolic changes but preserved major fluxes: Cell Metabolism www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Aged mice exhibit widespread metabolic changes but preserved major fluxes
Metabolic dysregulation is a hallmark of aging, but how metabolic pathway activity
(flux) changes with age has yet to be broadly assessed. Here, Jankowski et al. measure
metabolite concentrations and ...
www.cell.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Very cool. Obesity v age impact on metabolic flux:
Re: lactate (obvi):
Aging: serum lactate concentration increases (even though whole-body lactate flux stays ~ same).
Obesity (ob/ob): serum lactate concentration increases, and lactate flux also rises strongly (~50–85% vs. lean).
Re: lactate (obvi):
Aging: serum lactate concentration increases (even though whole-body lactate flux stays ~ same).
Obesity (ob/ob): serum lactate concentration increases, and lactate flux also rises strongly (~50–85% vs. lean).
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
🧠 The Lipid #Brain Atlas is out now! If you think #lipids are boring and membranes are all the same, prepare to be surprised. Led by @lucafusarbassini.bsky.social with Giovanni D'Angelo's lab, we mapped membrane lipids in the mouse brain at high resolution.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
October 16, 2025 at 6:23 AM
🧠 The Lipid #Brain Atlas is out now! If you think #lipids are boring and membranes are all the same, prepare to be surprised. Led by @lucafusarbassini.bsky.social with Giovanni D'Angelo's lab, we mapped membrane lipids in the mouse brain at high resolution.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Pretty Fluorescent Friday by Sierra Turner!
October 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Pretty Fluorescent Friday by Sierra Turner!
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Sweetening the diet with artificial sweeteners reveals in a clinical trial that prolonged consumption of S&SEs in a healthy diet is a safe strategy for #obesity management #weightloss #microbiota www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Effect of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers on weight management and gut microbiota composition in individuals with overweight or obesity: the SWEET study - Nature Metabolism
The SWEET project is a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial that shows that long-term consumption of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers improves body weight control and elicits beneficial gut microbiota changes in adults with overweight or obesity.
www.nature.com
October 7, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Sweetening the diet with artificial sweeteners reveals in a clinical trial that prolonged consumption of S&SEs in a healthy diet is a safe strategy for #obesity management #weightloss #microbiota www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Macauley Lab representing at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s!
October 5, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Macauley Lab representing at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s!
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... Working with our great collaborators at Pfizer we have uncovered a common genetic contributor to metabolic ill health/
Genetic impairment of ketone body signalling is a prevalent contributor to human metabolic dysfunction
Emerging evidence that circulating levels of key metabolic intermediates are sensed by a range of G-Protein Coupled receptors (GPCRs) is providing critical new insights into the control of systemic me...
www.medrxiv.org
October 3, 2025 at 1:10 AM
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... Working with our great collaborators at Pfizer we have uncovered a common genetic contributor to metabolic ill health/
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
To be clear, there are no data that provide a link between short-term use of Tylenol during pregnancy and autism. In fact, one of the best prospective studies w/ sibling controls, if anything, pointed to a protective effect for use less than 7 days
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
September 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
To be clear, there are no data that provide a link between short-term use of Tylenol during pregnancy and autism. In fact, one of the best prospective studies w/ sibling controls, if anything, pointed to a protective effect for use less than 7 days
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Confocal bat signal! Or Ant-man maybe? Guess that makes Clair our lab’s super hero!!!
September 12, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Confocal bat signal! Or Ant-man maybe? Guess that makes Clair our lab’s super hero!!!
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
Super cool. Prefrontal cortex controls sleep.
Bidirectional modulation of sleep and wakefulness via prefrontal cortical chemogenetics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.07.673922v1
September 12, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Super cool. Prefrontal cortex controls sleep.
Reposted by Shannon Macauley
new preprint from @iostephens.bsky.social describes the potential benefits of increasing lipid turnover in microglia by eliminating PLIN2 from their surface
Knockout of Perilipin 2 in Microglia Alters Lipid Droplet Accumulation and Response to Alzheimer's Disease Stimuli https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.02.673815v1
September 7, 2025 at 12:40 PM
new preprint from @iostephens.bsky.social describes the potential benefits of increasing lipid turnover in microglia by eliminating PLIN2 from their surface