Janine Higgins, Ph.D.
Instructor

Department/Division:
Department of Pediatrics

Contact information:
Office Location:
The Childrens' Hospital, B333
1056 E. 19th Avenue
Denver, CO 80218
Phone number: (303) 837-2955
Fax: (303) 764-8187
email: Higgins.Janine@tchden.org

Area of Research:
Dr. Higgins' primary focus is understanding the metabolic effects of resistant starch consumption. Resistant starch is any starch that escapes digestion in the small bowel and so passes to the large bowel for fermentation. Thus, ingestion of resistant starch has many metabolic effects which need to be elucidated and the mechanisms underlying these effects need to be studied in detail.

Dr. Higgins also has an interest in metabolic flexibility and its contribution to the pathophysiology of disease. As such, she is involved in the multi-center study of the treatment and prevention of Pediatric Type 2 diabetes (STOPP-T2D) and in a rat study to identify metabolic parameters involved in weight loss and maintenance.

Educational/Professional Background:

Educational Qualifications
1988-1990    Bachelor of Science Degree (Biochemistry/Genetics majors)
                     Department of Biochemistry, University of Sydney

1991             Bachelor of Science (Hons Class I)
                     Department of Biochemistry, University of Sydney
                     Project: Mutagenesis, cloning and expression of the jun
                     leucine zipper domain in E. coli

1992-1995    Ph.D. Department of Biochemistry, University of Sydney
                     Project: Determination of whole body and tissue-specific
                     insulin sensitivity in rats in response to long-term amylose
                     or amylopectin feeding.

Employment History
Following completion of her PhD, Dr. Higgins took a post-doctoral position at the University of Wollongong where she extended her observations on carbohydrate sub-types and insulin sensitivity to humans and also investigated the impact of fat sub-types on the development of insulin resistance.

In 1999, Dr. Higgins began a position at the Center for Human Nutrition, to extend her expertise to the field of obesity research.

Awards
1991   Pharmacia Award for Excellence in Molecular Biology
1994   Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular
           Biology Post-graduate Student Poster Award
1997   Australian Diabetes Society/Rhône Poulenc Rorer
           Career Development Award.
1997   Australian Diabetes Society International Travel Grant

Publications:

1. Higgins JA, Higbee DR, Donahoo WT, Brown IL, Bell ML, Bessesen DH (2004) Resistant starch consumption promotes lipid oxidation.  Nutr. Metab. 1:8.
2. Higgins, JA (2004) Resistant starch: metabolic effects and potential health benefits. J. AOAC Int. 87: 761-8.
3. Maclean PS, Higgins JA, Jackman MR, Johnson GC, Fleming-Elder BK, Wyatt HR, Melanson EL, Hill JO (2006) Peripheral Metabolic Responses to Prolonged Weight Reduction that Promote Rapid, Efficient Regain in Obesity-Prone Rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. Feb 2; [Epub ahead of print]
4. Donahoo WT, Bessesen DH, Higbee DR, Lei S, Grunwald GK, Higgins JA (2004) Assessment of Dietary Compliance Using Serum Lithium.  J. Nutr. 134 : 3133-3136.
5. MacLean PS, Higgins JA, Johnson GC, Fleming-Elder BK, Donahoo WT, Melanson EL, Hill JO. (2004) Enhanced metabolic efficiency contributes to weight regain after weight loss in obesity-prone rats.
   Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 287: R1306-15.
6. MacLean PS, Higgins JA, Johnson GC, Fleming-Elder BK, Peters JC, Hill JO. (2004) Metabolic adjustments with the development, treatment, and recurrence of obesity in obesity-prone rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 287:R288-97.
7.  Higgins, JA (2004) The role of resistant starch consumption in weight loss. Agro FOOD Industry HiTech. Jan/Feb: 45-47.
8. Brown, MA, Storlien, LH, Brown, IL, Higgins, JA (2003) Cooking attenuates the ability of high-amylose meals to reduce plasma insulin concentrations in rats. Br J Nutr. 90:823-7.
9. Storlien LH, Tapsell LC, Fraser A, Leslie E, Ball K, Higgins JA, Helge JW, Owen N (2001) Insulin resistance. Influence of diet and physical activity.  World Rev Nutr Diet. 90:26-43.
10. Storlien, L, Higgins, J, Thomas, T, Brown, M, Wang, H.Q, Wang, X.F, and Else, P. (2000) Diet composition and insulin action in animal models.  Br. J. Nutr. 83: S85-S90.