Sheps King-McAlpin (MM Graduate Student - Matthew Potthoff) has received an Underrepresented Minority Pre-Comprehensive Mentored Summer Research Fellowship.  This award is intended to facilitate my research progress.  Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an endocrine hormone that regulates energy homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. FGF21 has been shown to reduce adiposity and serum triglyceride levels, decrease blood glucose, decrease sweet taste preference, and increase weight loss without decreasing food intake in animal models. Exactly how FGF21 elicits its metabolic effects remains unknown. Understanding the mechanism of action of FGF21 will help harness its potential as a therapy for diabetes and obesity. FGF21 signals to tissues through a trimeric complex with B-klotho and the FGF receptor, FGFR1c and. B-klotho is an obligate co-receptor in that the tissue-specific effects of FGF21 are limited to the tissues expressing the co-receptor. B-klotho functions as a scaffolding molecule that allows FGF21 to interact with FGFR1c, a ubiquitously expressed tyrosine kinase. This trimeric complex leads to dimerization of FGFR1c and initiation of a signaling cascade that has yet to be identified. My project is to determine the signaling cascade FGF21.