Jennifer Pollock, Ph.D.Jennifer Pollock, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Medicine, has been named the latest recipient of the school’s Featured Discovery award. This recognition celebrates notable research contributions made by faculty and highlights the impact of their scientific advancements.

Pollock’s study, “Time-restricted feeding reduces cardiovascular disease risk in obese mice,” examined whether two weeks of time-restricted feeding (TRF) intervention in mice fed a chronic high-fat diet would reduce vascular and kidney disease risk factors.

During the study, diet-induced obesity was established in mice over the course of 18 weeks. Some mice ate freely, while others were introduced to TRF, which limited their food availability to 12 hours per day.

“TRF improved whole-body metabolic diurnal rhythms without a change in body weight or in fat mass,” Pollock said. “These findings indicate that TRF may be an effective intervention for improving vascular and kidney health in a model of established diet-induced obesity.”

The Heersink communications team met with Pollock to gain insights into the study and help raise awareness about both the research and the Heersink School of Medicine.

What compelled you to pursue this research?

We had a keen interest in circadian physiology and were working with several collaborators in this area of research. In addition, other colleagues had reported that TRFreduced blood pressure in a small number of obese men. Thus, we began a study of TRF in an animal model of obesity to determine more in-depth assessments of TRF on the vascular and renal systems.

What was your most unexpected finding?

There were two findings that were very unexpected. First, that TRF reversed the obesity induced aortic stiffness. Second, that TRF reduced kidney interstitial fibrosis in the obese mice.

How do you feel your research will impact the science community?

These studies have now influenced us and others to incorporate rigorous study designs with the time of day included as a variable. For example, we have now found that CD8+ T cells in the obese mice infiltrate the kidney during the dark period but not the light period. We also found that CD8+ T cells are critical to mediating kidney fibrosis in obese mice. We would not have discovered these new findings without including the time of day in our study design.

What is your research’s relevance to human disease?

Obesity, cardiovascular disease, and renal disease are all dominant in our society, especially in Alabama. Furthermore, people exposed to disruptions in circadian rhythms— from shift work, irregular sleep-wake periods, late night meals, and screen time—are at greater risk for many diseases. TRF or intermittent fasting behavior in humans may be a relevant intervention to mitigate vascular and renal disease pathologies, independent of weight loss, in obese men and women.

When did you know you had an important discovery?

When the analysis of the aortic stiffness and kidney fibrosis was completed, we knew this was a unique discovery, as disease pathology could actually be reversed.

How has being at UAB and living in Birmingham affected your research?

We attribute the success of these discoveries to our strong group of collaborators in circadian physiology, namely Drs. David Pollock, Karen Gamble, and Shannon Bailey.

What made you come to UAB?

The strong nephrology and hypertension researchers, as well as the cutting-edge resources, made this a highly desirable place when we were being recruited. Also, the ability to translate our basic science work into clinical relevance. The collegial and collaborative culture that UAB has cultivated for many years and hopefully will continue to nurture is what has kept us here at UAB.

What do you find makes the science community here unique?

The community is willing to cross scientific boundaries to cultivate research opportunities.