Matthew J. Merrins, PhD

Matthew J. Merrins, PhD is a Professor of Cellular & Molecular Physiology at the Yale School of Medicine. His research is focused on understanding how nutrient sensing is coupled to hormone secretion in pancreatic islet cells. A major focus of the lab is the use of fluorescence microscopy to study cellular metabolism in real time. The laboratory has expertise in several different imaging modalities including spinning disk confocal, TIRF, STED, multi-photon, and light-sheet microscopy. Dr. Merrins is best known for his work on β-cell glucose sensing, including the discovery that glycolytic metabolons, rather than mitochondria, locally generate the signal to initiate insulin secretion. Translational research in the laboratory is focused on targeting the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase for the treatment of metabolic disorders. Dr. Merrins participates in multiple graduate programs, and his trainees have gone on to successful careers in research and STEM education. In the classroom, Dr. Merrins has taught endocrinology and metabolism to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. Dr. Merrins is an academic co-founder of State 4 Therapeutics, an emerging Yale-based obesity pharmacotherapeutics company.