Friday, August 25, 2023
12–12:45 p.m. Presentation by Yanina Pepino, Ph.D.
12:45–1 p.m. Questions & Dialogue
Register here for lunch with colleagues at MSB Lecture Hall (Room 274)*
*Registration closes at noon on Monday, August 21
Or Attend Virtually via Zoom call-in
Bariatric surgery procedures provide the most effective treatment for severe obesity. However, the two most popular bariatric surgeries performed in the United States and the world — Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy — increase the risk for alcohol use disorders. In this talk, Health Innovation Professor Yanina Pepino will present research findings from her laboratory that explain how, despite different modifications of the gastrointestinal system, these two surgical procedures can similarly and profoundly change the pharmacokinetics of alcohol. She will also share recent findings that highlight changes in the pharmacodynamic effects of alcohol after women undergo these surgeries. Pepino’s research demonstrates that even though metabolic surgeries are the best treatment for severe obesity in adults and adolescents, the health care community and patients must be aware of changes in alcohol metabolism that follow these surgeries to help reduce the risk of potential serious consequences of moderate alcohol consumption.
Yanina Pepino is an associate professor of Biomedical and Translational Science at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and of Ingestive Behavior at the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to her research on alcohol, she investigates how individual differences in flavor perception and glucose metabolism shape dietary choices and, in turn, affect human health. Prior to joining UIUC, she was a research assistant professor at the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Professor Pepino received her master’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from the Faculty of Chemical Sciences, National University of Córdoba, Argentina. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association.
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