Person

Brynn Voy

Education Director
Overview

My lab uses broiler chicks as a dual-purpose animal model that addresses both efficiency in broiler production and mechanisms of early life obesity in children. Modern broilers are incredibly efficient, but they still accumulate more fat than is physiologically necessary due to inadvertent consequences of selection for rapid growth. Even a modest misallocation of feed, the most expensive component of production, is a significant economic concern for the industry due to the scale of broiler production in the U.S. This waste will become even more significant as broiler production increases to meet the protein demands of a surging global population (fao.org). For very different reasons, accretion of excess adipose tissue early in life is a critical concern for humans. Approximately 27% of children in the U.S. (and more than 30% in Tennessee), are overweight or obese by age five (cdc.gov), making them approximately five times more likely to be obese as adults. Obesity significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and myriad other co-morbid conditions that impose profound health, economic, and societal costs. Finding new ways to intervene and disrupt the trajectory toward early life obesity is a critical need for Tennessee, the U.S. and the growing list of other countries in which obesity is becoming epidemic. Research in my lab integrates ‘omics, nutrition, and physiology to identify control points in the molecular pathways that control adipose development, and how they can be manipulated through the early life diet to prevent excess fat deposition in both chicks and children.

Research Focus

Adipocyte development and obesity

Teaching Focus

Systems physiology

Courses
Below are courses taught during the current or past three academic years. Consult Timetable for the most current listing of courses and instructor(s).
AGNR 512 - Teaching Internship in Agriculture and Natural Resources
1 credit hour(s)

Supervised experience in teaching - test preparation and evaluation of agriculture students.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 2 hours for MS students and maximum 4 hours for PhD students.

Other Instructors: Eash, Neal | Kojima, Cheryl Jean | Yang, Sheng-I | McLean, Kyle | Yu, Edward | Mathew, Daniel J | Duncan, Lori Allison

ANSC 520 - Animal Physiology
4 credit hour(s)

Major body systems and interrelationships: nervous, muscle, blood, cardiovascular, kidney, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and endocrine. Concepts of metabolism, temperature regulation, and acid-base balance.
Recommended Background: General undergraduate coursework in anatomy and physiology.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate or permission of instructor.

ANSC 621 - Advanced Topics in Animal Physiology
1 - 4 credit hours

Recent advances and concepts, research techniques, current problems.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.

Other Instructors: Lin, Jun

NUTR 549 - Special Topics
1 - 3 credit hours

Recent advances in nutrition or food systems administration.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.

Picture of Brynn Voy
307 Ferris Hall
1508 Middle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-0000
Education and Training
  • Doctorate, Zoology/Animal Biology, Univ of Tennessee Knoxville*, 1996
Web Presence

Brynn Voy

Education Director
Picture of Brynn Voy image
307 Ferris Hall
1508 Middle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-0000
Education and Training
  • Doctorate, Zoology/Animal Biology, Univ of Tennessee Knoxville*, 1996
Overview

My lab uses broiler chicks as a dual-purpose animal model that addresses both efficiency in broiler production and mechanisms of early life obesity in children. Modern broilers are incredibly efficient, but they still accumulate more fat than is physiologically necessary due to inadvertent consequences of selection for rapid growth. Even a modest misallocation of feed, the most expensive component of production, is a significant economic concern for the industry due to the scale of broiler production in the U.S. This waste will become even more significant as broiler production increases to meet the protein demands of a surging global population (fao.org). For very different reasons, accretion of excess adipose tissue early in life is a critical concern for humans. Approximately 27% of children in the U.S. (and more than 30% in Tennessee), are overweight or obese by age five (cdc.gov), making them approximately five times more likely to be obese as adults. Obesity significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and myriad other co-morbid conditions that impose profound health, economic, and societal costs. Finding new ways to intervene and disrupt the trajectory toward early life obesity is a critical need for Tennessee, the U.S. and the growing list of other countries in which obesity is becoming epidemic. Research in my lab integrates ‘omics, nutrition, and physiology to identify control points in the molecular pathways that control adipose development, and how they can be manipulated through the early life diet to prevent excess fat deposition in both chicks and children.

Research Focus

Adipocyte development and obesity

Teaching Focus

Systems physiology

Courses
Below are courses taught during the current or past three academic years. Consult Timetable for the most current listing of courses and instructor(s).
AGNR 512 - Teaching Internship in Agriculture and Natural Resources
1 credit hour(s)

Supervised experience in teaching - test preparation and evaluation of agriculture students.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 2 hours for MS students and maximum 4 hours for PhD students.

Other Instructors: Eash, Neal | Kojima, Cheryl Jean | Yang, Sheng-I | McLean, Kyle | Yu, Edward | Mathew, Daniel J | Duncan, Lori Allison

ANSC 520 - Animal Physiology
4 credit hour(s)

Major body systems and interrelationships: nervous, muscle, blood, cardiovascular, kidney, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and endocrine. Concepts of metabolism, temperature regulation, and acid-base balance.
Recommended Background: General undergraduate coursework in anatomy and physiology.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate or permission of instructor.

ANSC 621 - Advanced Topics in Animal Physiology
1 - 4 credit hours

Recent advances and concepts, research techniques, current problems.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – graduate.

Other Instructors: Lin, Jun

NUTR 549 - Special Topics
1 - 3 credit hours

Recent advances in nutrition or food systems administration.

Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.

Web Presence