The Renaissance Researcher

The Sanford I. Weill and Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., MD Centennial Chair in Translational Biomedical Sciences Education at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute is a professor of biochemistry in medicine and Director of the Weill Cornell Physiology, Biophysics & Systems Biology PhD Program. His research focuses on lipid metabolism with the goal of identifying novel molecular pathways to guide the development of innovative therapies that reduce the incidence of obesity-associated diabetes and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. His methodologies are grounded in biochemistry, DNA techniques, cell biology, animal models, and human observational studies. “I have always viewed human health and disease in the context of chemistry, and currently our group is studying something that may be medically relevant,” Pownall noted, “When reporting a plasma cholesterol concentrations, it is expressed as a sum of two kinds of cholesterol—esterified cholesterol and free cholesterol—which likely have distinct metabolic itineraries that determine risk in different ways. From our current studies, it appears that free cholesterol may be more important than cholesteryl ester as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, and other metabolic disorders.”

Pownall and his team are halfway through a study supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health on “Human Atherogenesis with Underlying Dysfunctional HDL-Free Cholesterol.” He is also in the process of submitting collaborative grant applications to identify novel risk factors for cardiovascular disease within the South Asian population. “South Asians have a higher-than-normal propensity to diabetes, known as metabolic syndrome; however, the underlying reason is body shape. It is not obesity, it is body shape. As people age, their body fat mostly shifts from femoral-gluteal depots to the waistline. In women, it does not happen until menopause. For this, we have an algorithm that we are currently validating,” Pownall said.

Recognition of his contributions to research in lipid metabolism by the scientific community, culminated in his recent election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is a bestowed upon members whose efforts in advancing science or applying its principles to serve society have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues. “My recent election reflects well on everybody I work with because no one can stand alone,” Pownall emphasized. “The people here have been tremendously supportive. The I CARE values saturate our social environment, and the institution supports our research.”

But Pownall is not all about lipids research and educating graduate students. He is also an author. His book, “Word Mavens, “about English and vocabulary, categorizes words according to their origins— French, chemistry, and Sanskrit, including as well eponyms and toponyms. “Most people do not know the word ‘silhouette’ was derived from the name of a French bureaucrat, Étienne de Silhouette,” he said. He is also a poet and they are not about lipids.

His topics are far-ranging, from comments on Edwin Locke's opinion on cultural diversity, feminism to eulogies to his cats. He is also a fan of Greek mythology and recommends the topic others. Pownall’s philanthropic side honors his beliefs in communication and science with the endowment of three scholarships at Northeastern University (Chemistry), Elizabethtown College (English), and Wilkes College (Chemistry). But he holds steady on his vocation. “I'm not young, but as long as I can go, I'm going to keep on going,” Pownall said.