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The Coate Lab

Biosketch

Headshot of Katie Coate.
Katie C. Coate, Ph.D.

Education & Training

  • 2005: B.S., Nutrition and Food Science, Auburn University
  • 2007: M.S., Nutrition, Auburn University; Mentor, Dr. Kevin W. Huggins
  • 2011: Ph.D., Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Vanderbilt University; Mentor, Dr. Alan D. Cherrington
  • 2011-15: Postdoctoral Fellow, Pharmacology and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center; Mentors: Drs. David J. Mangelsdorf and Steve Kliewer
  • 2019-2021: NIDDK Re-entry Supplement Recipient, Vanderbilt University; Mentors: Drs. Al Powers and Roland Stein

Academic Appointments

  • 2015-19: Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Samford University
  • 2017-19: Program Director, MS in Nutrition, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Samford University
  • 2019-23: Research Instructor in Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • 2023-24: Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • 2023-Present: Research Health Scientist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Station 626
  • 2024-Present: Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (Primary), Vanderbilt University
  • 2024-Present: Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine (Secondary), Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Dr. Coate is a basic scientist motivated by a longstanding interest to decipher the complex molecular, cellular, and physiological mechanisms that regulate blood glucose homeostasis in health and disease. She has received exceptional interdisciplinary training in nutrition science, integrative physiology, metabolism, and endocrinology, with an emphasis on identifying pathogenic mechanisms of diabetes and its pathophysiologic consequences in vivo. Additionally, her unique experience as an educator and leader at Samford University was invaluable for honing her communication skills and cultivating excellence in teaching and service. Collectively, these experiences shaped her scholarly interests and mentoring philosophy.

In 2019, Dr. Coate was awarded a re-entry supplement from the NIDDK that enabled her return to full-time biomedical research at Vanderbilt under the mentorship of Drs. Al Powers and Roland Stein. Since returning, she has made significant progress in updating, enhancing, and expanding her research skills and scientific knowledge to address medically relevant questions related to human pancreatic islet biology.

As an independent investigator, Dr. Coate aims to integrate her expertise in metabolic regulation with her newly acquired proficiency in pancreatic islet biology to establish a distinctive and impactful research program that leverages advanced genetic, genomic, and physiological approaches to discover mechanisms controlling the activity and identity of human pancreatic islet cells in health and disease.