Alfred Fisher, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Alfred Fisher is a physician-scientist who is both the head of an active basic-science focused research lab, and active in multiple service activities at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital and on the UT Health Science Center campus. 

These activities include serving as the associate director for the M.D./ Ph.D. program at UTHSCSA, and serving as the associate director for research for the San Antonio Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center based in the VA. 

He was recruited to UTHSCSA from the University of Pittsburgh and chose to join the much larger Biology of Aging research community at UTHSCSA because of the resources such as an NIA-funded San Antonio Nathan Shock Center, an NIA-funded Biology of Aging training grant, and a Biology of Aging focused Ph.D. training program. 

His research expertise is in clinical geriatrics and the use of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegansin aging research. He is particularly interested in the roles of metabolism in the aging process. 

Specific projects in the lab include: (1) examining how metabolic stress alters proteasomal function and expression, (2) exploring how mitochondrial function changes during aging via non-invasive techniques, (3) determining how amino acids can impair insulin-like signaling, and (4) testing whether oxidative stress responses are controlled by both cell autonomous and non-autonomous mechanisms.

• Publications

  Ferguson AA, Roy S, Kormanik KN, Kim Y, Dumas KJ, Ritov VB, Matern D, Hu PJ, Fisher AL. (2013) TATN-1 mutations reveal a novel role for tyrosine as a metabolic signal that influences developmental decisions and longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS Genet. 2013 Dec;9(12):e1004020.

  Ferguson AA, Cai L, Kashyap L, Fisher AL. (2013) Improved vectors for selection of transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods Mol Biol 2013 Jan;940:87-102.

  Kashyap L, Perera S, Fisher AL. (2013) Identification of novel genes involved in sarcopenia through RNAi screening in Caenorhabditis elegans. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2012 Jan;67(1):56-65.

  Cai L, Phong BL, Fisher AL, Wang Z. (2011) Regulation of fertility, survival, and cuticle collagen function by the Caenorhabditis elegans eaf-1 and ell-1 genes. J Biol Chem 2011 Oct;286(41):35915-35921.