With nonalcoholic fatty liver disease affecting nearly a third of the US population, Luma Melo, University of Pittsburgh, describes how mouse studies have shown that low-impact exercise can help reverse liver damage. Dr. Melo also shares with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner how research funding works in her native Brazil and the role of Brazilian women in toxicology.

About the Guest
Luma Melo, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, started her scientific career in her native Brazil, earning a master’s degree in physics from the University of São Paulo, where she also served as an Associated Instructor. She then earned a master’s degree in the philosophy of science and medicine and a PhD in environmental health from Indiana University in the United States.

Dr. Melo’s research focuses on liver disease (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) and exercise. She is exploring mode of action and genetic expression related to how exercise and environmental chemicals modulate the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases, as well as liver fibrosis and the mechanisms and determinants of mortality of alcoholic liver disease through translational studies including human samples and experimental models of liver disease. She also has conducted research involving aerobic exercise and breast cancer and published a book on quantum physics for laypeople titled But After All … What Is Quantum Physics?

Dr. Melo is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an Adjunct Professor with Ball State University.