Andrew Swick, Ph.D. Andrew G. Swick, PhD, an expert in the study of obesity with over 20 years of experience, is the Director of Obesity and Eating Disorders Research at the NRI.
Dr. Swick studies the relationship between the digestive system and the regulation of body weight and metabolism. A person’s body weight is a reflection of the amount of calories eaten relative to the amount of energy that is expended. Both food intake and energy expenditure vary depending on genetics and the environment. After food is consumed, it is first sensed by the digestive organs. Dr. Swick studies how those organs sense the food and send signals to control appetite and metabolism. As an important element to his work, he focuses on the influence of genetics on energy expenditure and the effects of diet, exercise and pharmaceuticals on energy metabolism and body weight.
Dr. Swick earned a BS in Animal Science from the University of Florida in 1981 followed by an MS in Nutrition from the University of Nebraska in 1982. While in Lincoln, he worked on the effects of dietary fiber and fat on serum lipid levels. He then moved on to the University of Wisconsin where he conducted research on diet-induced-thermogenesis and brown adipose tissue metabolism and function.
After earning his PhD in 1987, Dr. Swick pursued postdoctoral research at the Lineberger Cancer Research Institute at the University of North Carolina where he studied transcriptional regulation of the dihydrofolate reductase gene and the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on transcription and gene amplification. In 1990, Dr. Swick joined the Department of Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center where he conducted research on the regulation of adipocyte gene expression and differentiation.
In 1992, Dr. Swick joined Pfizer Global Research and Development as a Senior Research Scientist in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases working on diabetes and obesity. He quickly advanced to become Senior Director of Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases (CVMED). He was a key member of the CVMED Leadership Team, Obesity Disease Area Strategy Team, CVMED Translational Research Team and Obesity Development Team. While at Pfizer, Dr. Swick was responsible for the delivery of more than a dozen compounds to clinical development, including biologicals and small molecules spanning multiple mechanisms across obesity and diabetes, covering Phases 1, 2 and 3.
Dr. Swick is an elected member of several professional organizations and currently serves on the New York Academy of Sciences Diabetes and Obesity Steering Committee.
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Contact Number:
704-250-5015
Current Research Staff:
Stephen Oreña
Xiaomeng You
Annalouise O'Connor
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