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The Coate Lab

Biosketch

Headshot of Katie Coate.
Katie C. Coate, PhD, MS

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 physiological, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that regulate blood glucose homeostasis. She obtained exceptional interdisciplinary training in nutrition, 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 learning.

In 2019, she was awarded a NIDDK Re-entry Supplement that enabled her return to biomedical research at Vanderbilt University under the mentorship of Drs. Al Powers and Roland Stein. During that time, her effort was directed towards addressing medically relevant questions related to pancreatic islet biology. In 2024, she was promoted to Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics at Vanderbilt.

The overarching goal of her research program is to discover mechanisms controlling the molecular and functional properties of human islet cells in health and in diabetes. Her lab integrates advanced genetic, genomic, and physiological approaches to address the following questions: 1) How do gene regulatory factors (e.g., transcription factors like MAFB and ISL1) control pancreatic cell type-specific function and maintenance in adult human islets? 2) How do unique features of human islets influence their response to (patho)physiologic challenges in vivo (e.g. obesity and diabetes)?

Her research relies heavily on the use of human cadaveric donor islets coupled with genetic targeting of alpha and beta cells, static and dynamic assessments of hormone secretion, bulk and single cell RNA-sequencing, immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy, and transplantation of human islets into immunocompromised mice.