Teresa Douglas, PhD    Login to edit this profile

Roles Assistant Research Scientist Centers & Contact Information Emory University, School of Medicine Atlanta, GA

Biography The important role nutrition has in the neurological and neurobehavioral health of individuals led me into the field of nutritional metabolic research. As a graduate student within Emory's Nutrition and Health Sciences program, I had the opportunity to complete an interdisciplinary study combining the knowledge of genetics, nutrition, and neuroscience to better understand the challenges and treatments common to Phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited amino acid metabolism disorder. My dissertation focused on a cohort of PKU subjects as they begin taking sapropterin (BH4), a pharmaceutical form of the tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor essential for phenylalanine hydroxylase function. My investigation involved measuring peripheral neurotransmitters in PKU patients both on and off sapropterin during one year of follow-up. I also investigated QOL in the same patient cohort. As a current postdoc at Emory Genetics, I am assisting with an investigation into sapropterin’s effects on markers of oxidative stress and cardiovascular function as well as further analysis of markers in nutrition status in PKU patients who have and have not responded to sapropterin with improved Phe levels. Currently I am seeking follow up postdoctoral opportunities that will provide me with more laboratory neuroscience and biochemistry experience while continuing to foster my interest in how nutrition modifies neurological aspects of patient health and wellbeing. Areas of Expertise PKU Education PhD, Emory University, Nutrition and Health Science Program M.S., University of Hawaii, Nutrition Sciences Program B.S., Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Biology Selected Publications Teresa D. Douglas, Hyder A. Jinnah, Douglas Bernhard, Rani H. Singh. The effect of sapropterin on urinary monoamine metabolites in phenylketonuria. Accepted by Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. Teresa D. Douglas, Meghan Quirk, Sarah Yi, Mary Jane Kennedy, Rani H. Singh. Accuracy of six anthropometric skin fold formulas in estimating percent body fat compared to air displacement plethysmography in female adolescents with phenylketonuria. Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disorders. Epublished Dec 2012. [PMID: 23430796] Rani H. Singh, Meghan Quirk, Teresa D. Douglas, Mary Brauchla. BH(4) therapy impacts the nutrition status and intake in children with phenylketonuria: 2-year follow-up. Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disorders. 2010 December.[PMID: 20941642] Nutrition Management Guidelines Activity 2008 - Present