Douglas L. Rothman

About

Douglas L. Rothman is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University, with additional appointments in Radiology & Biomedical Imaging. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University. His research focuses on the development of magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging methods to non-invasively image metabolic and neurotransmitter pathways in humans and animal models. Rothman's work contributes to advancing imaging techniques that provide insights into brain function and metabolism, supporting breakthroughs in biomedical imaging and neuroscience.

Research topics

• Endocrinology
• Biology
• Medicine
• Pathology
• Biotechnology
• Chemistry
• Neuroscience
• Internal medicine
• Biochemistry
• Radiology

Selected publications

• Metabolic control analysis of hepatic glycogen synthesis in vivo

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 81 citations

  ]glucose with metabolic control analysis (MCA) in three rat models: 1) regular chow (RC)-fed male rats (control), 2) high fat diet (HFD)-fed rats, and 3) RC-fed rats with portal vein glucose delivery at a glucose infusion rate matched to the control. During hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia dose-dependently increased hepatic glycogen synthesis. At similar levels of hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia, HFD-fed rats exhibited a decrease and portal delivery rats exhibited an increase in hepatic glycog…

  DOI

• Diffuse white matter loss in a transgenic rat model of cerebral amyloid angiopathy

  Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism · 2020 · 24 citations

  Diffuse white matter (WM) disease is highly prevalent in elderly with cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD). In humans, cSVD such as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) often coexists with Alzheimer's disease imposing a significant impediment for characterizing their distinct effects on WM. Here we studied the burden of age-related CAA pathology on WM disease in a novel transgenic rat model of CAA type 1 (rTg-DI). A cohort of rTg-DI and wild-type rats was scanned longitudinally using MRI for charac…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Brain and body energy metabolism and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders

  Nature Mental Health · 2025-06-25 · 15 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Bird's‐Eye View of Glycolytic Upregulation in Activated Brain: The Major Fate of Lactate Is Release From Activated Tissue, Not Shuttling to Nearby Neurons

  Journal of Neurochemistry · 2025-06-01 · 13 citations

  reviewOpen accessCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Glucose is the major, obligatory fuel for the brain, and nearly all glucose is oxidized in the awake, resting state. However, during activation, much of the glucose is not oxidized even though adequate oxygen is available, ATP demand is increased, and glycolysis generates less ATP than oxidation. The fate of the lactate produced by glycolysis is a highly debated topic, in part because its origin and fate in the living brain are difficult to measure. One idea has been that astrocytes gen…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Comment on the Editorial “Embracing the Modern Biochemistry of Brain Metabolism”

  Journal of Neurochemistry · 2025-08-01 · 4 citations

  letterOpen accessCorresponding

  The editorial "Embracing the Modern Biochemistry of Brain Metabolism" takes exception with some critics who "persist in refuting intercellular metabolic exchange", singling out our recent review "A bird's-eye view of glycolytic upregulation in activated brain: The major fate of lactate is release from activated tissue, not shuttling to nearby neurons". However, it is important to note that our review did not refute intercellular metabolic exchange or shuttles. The review only refuted the concept…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Validation of GABA MRS as a Biomarker of Inhibition

  NIH · $1.7M · 2016–2021

• 13C MRS Studies of Brain Mitochondrial Metabolism in Insulin Resistance

  NIH · $2.1M · 2014–2021

• NIH Grant R01NS051854

  NIH · $2.6M · 2010

Frequent coauthors

• Robert G. Shulman

  Yale University

  290 shared

• Kevin L. Behar

  Yale University

  267 shared

• Fahmeed Hyder

  Yale University

  263 shared

• Robin A. de Graaf

  184 shared

• Graeme F. Mason

  Yale University

  183 shared

• Gerald I. Shulman

  Howard Hughes Medical Institute

  139 shared

• Ognen A. C. Petroff

  Yale University

  85 shared

• Kitt Falk Petersen

  Yale University

  73 shared

Education

• Ph.D., molecular biochemistry and biophysics

  Yale University

  1987

Similar researchers at Yale University

• Nicholas Christakish-110
• Andre Levchenkoh-82