Personnel

Ormond A. MacDougald, Ph.D., Principal Investigator

Ormond MacDougald was recruited to UM in 1996 as an Assistant Professor of Physiology. He is currently the John A Faulkner Chair of Physiology and Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, and Internal Medicine. Ormond’s interests include all aspects of adipose tissue biology, and training the next generation of scientists. Outside work he mainly spends time with his wife and four children but he also likes to woodwork, garden, and make music.

Ormond's curriculum vitae

macdouga@med.umich.edu

Grace Musai, B.S., Lab Manager

Grace joined the MacDougald lab in April 2026 after receiving her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Michigan. Her interests in the lab include investigating adipose tissue distribution and depot-specific differences in lipodystrophy, as well as studying the relationship between bone marrow adiposity and bone remodeling under metabolic stress conditions. Outside of the lab, Grace enjoys playing soccer, taking long walks, and cooking Albanian food.

gmusai@umich.edu

Hiroyuki Mori, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist

My scientific career has focused on negative regulators of pathways relevant to diabetes and obesity. I have studied physiological and pathological role of each regulatory molecule, using cell and animal models. I graduated from Akita University School of Medicine in Japan and worked as a physician in the field of diabetes and metabolic diseases. I then pursued a graduate research degree and received my Ph.D. from Kyushu University in Japan. My thesis work focused on suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS), where we discovered that SOCS3 inhibits IL-6 signaling and regulates leptin receptor signaling in vivo. Subsequently, I was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Kun-Liang Guan’s laboratory at the University of Michigan, where I studied mTORC1’s role in a variety of cells and tissues, especially the hypothalamus and pancreatic beta cells. Then, I moved to the laboratory of Dr. Ormond MacDougald, where I studied the role of secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (Sfrp5), a negative regulator of WNT, in adipocyte biology using cultured adipocytes and a transgenic mouse model. I am studying the role of WNT11 in obesity-induced adipose tissue hypoxia, and also exploring the role of hypoxia-induced WNT11 in tumor progression.

morimori@umich.edu

Anderson de Paula Souza, M.D.

Anderson received his medical degree in 2022 from the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil.  His research interests focus on endocrinology, particularly adipose tissue biology and lipodystrophy, with an emphasis on integrating clinical and bench approaches to advance translational research. Outside the lab, Anderson enjoys theater and concerts, cycling the trails of Ann Arbor, hiking, cooking, spending time with friends and playing instruments (tenor saxophone, bow viola, and now trying kalimba and cello).

anderdps@umich.edu

Rajitha Hemba-Waduge, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow

Rajitha joined the MacDougald lab in June 2026 from Tulane University, where he obtained his doctorate investigating genetic determinants of depot-specific metabolic regulation in adipose tissue, using Drosophila and primate-derived adipose tissue samples. He is interested in expanding his research to provide insights into lipodystrophy. 

rajitha@umich.edu

Amanda Barks, M.D., Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow 

Jess joined the MacDougald lab in May 2021, after receiving her B.S. in Biochemistry from Union College and working as a research technician at Oregon Health and Science University. Jess’s interests in the lab include understanding mechanisms of adipocyte loss in familial partial lipodystrophy 2 (FPLD2), caused by mutations in the nuclear lamina protein, lamin A/C. Outside of the lab, Jess enjoys camping, tennis, food photography, and practicing Indonesian.  

akbarks@umich.edu

Akira Nishii, M.S., Bioinformatics Specialist

Akira started in the lab as an undergraduate student studying the effect of temperature on lipid desaturation in adipocytes under the mentorship of Dr. Hiro Mori. He has now gained considerable expertise in bioinformatics, and is integral to the MacDougald lab’s handling of large datasets. Outside of work, Akira enjoys soccer, karate, and astrophotography.

anishii@umich.edu

Isabel Hermsmeyer, M.S., Graduate Student Research Assistant

Isabel joined the MacDougald lab in May 2022 as a visiting student from her home department of Anthropology where she is currently working on her PhD, as well as an MPH with the School of Public Health. Isabel's research interests include the evolution of human adiposity and the adaptive functions of adipose tissues in humans and nonhuman primates. Outside of work, Isabel enjoys live music, watching horror movies and eating Taiwanese food.

idherms@umich.edu

Brian Desrosiers, B.S., Graduate Student

Brian joined the MacLab in April 2024 after receiving his B.S. at Northeastern University and working in biotech. Brian’s interests in the lab include understanding mitochondrial dynamics in adipose tissues.

briandes@umich.edu