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Calvin Carter, PhD

Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology

Introduction

Modern society is continuously surrounded by electromagnetic fields, including WiFi, Bluetooth, radiowaves and the naturally occurring fields of the Earth. It is known that animals possess evolutionarily encoded mechanisms to sense and respond to electromagnetic fields (e.g. bird migration). However, the effects of fields beyond spatial mapping remain unknown. Also unknown is 1) the mechanism by which fields impact biology and 2) whether humans possess the biological machinery to sense and respond to fields.

The overarching goal of my laboratory is to map the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. We aim to address how fields interact with biology, and how fields may be harnessed to remotely control cellular physiology. We address these questions using an interdisciplinary approach in biomedical engineering, electrochemistry, biochemistry, molecular genetics, and neuroscience.

We have successfully developed a fully noninvasive method to modulate cellular redox systems and mitochondrial bioenergetics and have demonstrated that this technology can be used to modulate blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. We are currently translating these findings by initiating clinical trials. Ultimately, we use electromagnetic fields to solve some of the biggest challenges in human health and national defense.

Current Positions

  • Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology
  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
  • Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
  • Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology

Education

  • BS in Biology, Holstra University
  • PhD in Neuroscience, University of Iowa
  • HHMI Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroscience, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa
  • American Diabetes Association Postdoctoral Fellow in Diabetes & Metabolism, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa

Graduate Program Affiliations

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

Selected Publications

  • *^†Carter C.S., Huang S.H., Searby C.C., Cassaidy B., Miller M.J., Grzesik W.J., Piorczynski T.B., Zhang Q., Bradberry K., Pak T.K., Walsh S.A., Dick D.W., Akurathi V., Acevedo M., Mapuskar K.A., Milne G.L., Hinton A., Guo, D.F., Hubert-Falls K.C., Wagner B.A., Carter W.A., Wang K., Norris A.W., Rahmouni K., Buettner G.R., Hansen J.M., Spitz D.R., Abel E.D., and Sheffield V.C.: Exposure to Static Magnetic and Electric Fields Treats Type 2 Diabetes. Cell Metabolism. 32(4):561-574.e7, 2020. PMCID: PMC7819711
  • Carter CS, Vogel TW, Zhang Q, Seo S, Swiderski RE, Moninger TO, Cassell MD, Thedens DR, Keppler-Noreuil KM, Nopoulos P, Nishimura DY, Searby CC, Bugge K, Sheffield VC.: Abnormal development of NG2+PDGFR-α+ neural progenitor cells leads to neonatal hydrocephalus in a ciliopathy mouse model. Nat Med, 18(12):1797-804, 2012. PMCID: PMC3684048
  • McReynolds MR, Termini CM, Hinton AO Jr, Taylor BL, Vue Z, Huang SC, Roby RS, Shuler H, Carter CS.: The art of virtual mentoring in the twenty-first century for STEM majors and beyond. Nat Biotechnol, 38(12):1477-1482, 2020. PMID: 33273732
  • Pak TK, Carter CS, Zhang Q, Huang SC, Searby C, Hsu Y, Taugher RJ, Vogel T, Cychosz CC, Genova R, Moreira NN, Stevens H, Wemmie JA, Pieper AA, Wang K, Sheffield VC.: A mouse model of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome has impaired fear memory, which is rescued by lithium treatment. PLoS Genet, 17(4):e1009484, 2021. PMCID: PMC8061871
  • Carter CS, Huang SC, Searby CC, Cassaidy B, Miller MJ, Grzesik WJ, Piorczynski TB, Pak TK, Walsh SA, Acevedo M, Zhang Q, Mapuskar KA, Milne GL, Hinton AO Jr, Guo DF, Weiss R, Bradberry K, Taylor EB, Rauckhorst AJ, Dick DW, Akurathi V, Falls-Hubert KC, Wagner BA, Carter WA, Wang K, Norris AW, Rahmouni K, Buettner GR, Hansen JM, Spitz DR, Abel ED, Sheffield VC.: Exposure to Static Magnetic and Electric Fields Treats Type 2 Diabetes. Cell Metab, 32(6):1076, 2020. PMID: 33264599
  • Termini CM, McReynolds MR, Rutaganira FUN, Roby RS, Hinton AO Jr, Carter CS, Huang SC, Vue Z, Martinez D, Shuler HD, Taylor BL.: Mentoring during Uncertain Times. Trends Biochem Sci, 46(5):345-348, 2021. PMID: 33622580
  • Carter CS, Huang SC, Searby CC, Cassaidy B, Miller MJ, Grzesik WJ, Piorczynski TB, Pak TK, Walsh SA, Acevedo M, Zhang Q, Mapuskar KA, Milne GL, Hinton AO Jr, Guo DF, Weiss R, Bradberry K, Taylor EB, Rauckhorst AJ, Dick DW, Akurathi V, Falls-Hubert KC, Wagner BA, Carter WA, Wang K, Norris AW, Rahmouni K, Buettner GR, Hansen JM, Spitz DR, Abel ED, Sheffield VC.: Counterpoint: An alternative hypothesis for why exposure to static magnetic and electric fields treats type 2 diabetes. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 320(5):E1001-E1002, 2021. PMCID: PMC8238130
  • Carter CS, Huang SC, Searby CC, Cassaidy B, Miller MJ, Grzesik WJ, Piorczynski TB, Pak TK, Walsh SA, Acevedo M, Zhang Q, Mapuskar KA, Milne GL, Hinton AO Jr, Guo DF, Weiss R, Bradberry K, Taylor EB, Rauckhorst AJ, Dick DW, Akurathi V, Falls-Hubert KC, Wagner BA, Carter WA, Wang K, Norris AW, Rahmouni K, Buettner GR, Hansen JM, Spitz DR, Abel ED, Sheffield VC.: Reply to Petersen et al.: An alternative hypothesis for why exposure to static magnetic and electric fields treats type 2 diabetes. Am J Physiol Endorcinol Metab 320(5):E1004-E1005, 2021. PMCID: PMC8238129
  • Weihbrecht K, Goar WA, Carter CS, Sheffield VC, Seo S.: Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of the Sdccag8Tn(sb-Tyr)2161B.CA1C2Ove mouse model. PLoS One, 13(2):e0192755, 2018. PMCID: PMC5812623
  • Carter M, Levin NW, Carter CS, Callegari J.: The Sustainable Kidney Care Foundation's contribution to the improvement of AKI management in developing countries using peritoneal dialysis. Clin Nephrol, 86(13):78-83, 2016. PMID: 27879188