Education:
- BS (2001) Zoology. NC State University, Raleigh, NC.
- MS (2003) Animal Breeding and Genetics. NC State University, Raleigh, NC.
Current Research:
I am studying the effects of soy protein isolate and isoflavones on the development and progression of atherosclerosis as it relates to inflammatory gene expression and estrogen receptor (ER) expression in male and female cynomolgus macaques. It is hypothesized that the anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic effects associated with soy consumption act directly on the artery itself to decrease NFkB mediated inflammatory gene expression and thereby decrease atherosclerotic lesion development and progression. I am also trying to characterize the relationship between ER expression and atherosclerotic lesion size, as it has been found that ER expression is negatively correlated with lesion size, and it is hypothesized that high ER levels in the artery could inhibit or delay lesion progression.
Publications:
Walker SE, Register TC, Appt SE, Adams MR, Clarkson TB, Chen H, Isom S, Franke AA, Kaplan JR. Plasma lipid-dependent and -independent effects of dietary soy protein and social status on atherogenesis in premenopausal monkeys: implications for postmenopausal atherosclerosis burden. Menopause. 2008 Mar 27; [Epub ahead of print]
Walker SE, Adams MR, Franke AA, Register TC. Effects of dietary soy protein on iliac and carotid artery atherosclerosis and gene expression in male monkeys. Atherosclerosis. 2008 Jan;196(1):106-13 .
Walker S, Robison OW, Whisnant CS, Cassady JP. Effect of divergent selection for testosterone production on testicular morphology and daily sperm production in boars. J Anim Sci. 2004 Aug;82(8):2259-63.
Abstracts:
Register TC, Walker SE, Shively CA, Adams MR, Kaplan JR, Appt SE, Clarkson TB. Inflammation and atherogenesis in female cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Am J Primatol 2007;69:72.