Dr Katrina Viloria PhD

Dr Katrina Viloria

Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research
Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0) 1214143768
Email
k.viloria@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@kitkat_time
Address
Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research
Institute of Biomedical Research
College of Medical and Dental Sciences
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Katrina is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Islet Biology lab, headed by Professor David Hodson, at the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research. Her research focuses on investigating the function of vitamin D binding protein in pancreatic alpha cells.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Anatomy, Pathology and Physiology, Kingston University, 2018
  • MSc in Biotechnology, Kingston University, 2013
  • BSc Biology, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2011

Biography

Katrina completed her BSc in Biology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She later pursued her MSc in Biotechnology at Kingston University London. Katrina continued to complete her PhD at Kingston University with Dr. Natasha Hill. Her research investigated SPARC matricellular protein expression in the pancreas, and how they function in regulating insulin secretion from beta cells.

In 2018 she joined the IMSR at the University of Birmingham for her postdoctoral studies in Professor David Hodson’s Islet Biology Group. Her research interests include studying alpha cell function and glucagon secretion in vitamin D-binding protein-deficient mice.

Research

Vitamin D binding protein (DBP) is highly expressed in glucagon-secreting alpha cells. To investigate DBP function, the research utilises microscopy techniques combined with molecular biology to investigate protein expression and signalling in islet cells. The research also uses tissue from mouse models as well as tissue from individuals with diabetes to investigate DBP function in diseased states.

Research Groups and Centres

Publications

Viloria, K., Nasteska, D., Briant, L.J., Heising, S., Larner, D.P., Fine, N.H., Ashford, F.B., da Silva Xavier, G., Ramos, M.J., Hasib, A. and Cuozzo, F., 2020. Vitamin-D-Binding Protein Contributes to the Maintenance of α Cell Function and Glucagon Secretion. Cell reports, 31(11), p.107761.

Nasteska, D., Viloria, K., Everett, L. and Hodson, D.J., 2019. Informing β-cell regeneration strategies using studies of heterogeneity. Molecular Metabolism, 27, pp.S49-S59.

Viloria, K., Munasinghe, A., Asher, S., Bogyere, R., Jones, L. and Hill, N.J., 2016. A holistic approach to dissecting SPARC family protein complexity reveals FSTL-1 as an inhibitor of pancreatic cancer cell growth. Scientific reports, 6, p.37839

Viloria, K. and Hill, N.J., 2016. Embracing the complexity of matricellular proteins: the functional and clinical significance of splice variation. Biomolecular concepts, 7(2), pp.117-132.

Ryall, C.L., Viloria, K., Lhaf, F., Walker, A.J., King, A., Jones, P., Mackintosh, D., McNeice, R., Kocher, H., Flodstrom-Tullberg, M. and Edling, C., 2014. Novel Role for Matricellular Proteins in the Regulation of Islet β Cell Survival, the Effect of SPARC on Survival, Proliferation and Signaling. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289(44), pp.30614-30624.