William S. Garver, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The University of New Mexico
Education and Employment
1986, B.A., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of New
Mexico (Albuquerque, NM)
1991, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New Mexico State
University (Las Cruces, NM)
1995, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition,
The University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
2009, Research Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, The University of
Arizona (Tucson, AZ)
Research Interests
My research interest involves nutrition and metabolism pertaining to weight gain and
type 2 diabetes mellitus. My group has recently identified the Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1)
gene as being associated with early-onset weight gain, in addition to development of the
metabolic syndrome, using a novel mouse model. Since NPC1 genetic variations are
believed to be most prevalent among certain populations living in New Mexico, we
propose investigating the extent to which NPC1 genetic variations promote weight gain
and the metabolic syndrome in New Mexico.
Select Publications
Garver WS, Erickson RP, Wilson JM, Colton TL, Hossain GS, Kozloski MA,
Heidenreich RA (1997). Altered expression of caveolin-1 and increased cholesterol
in detergent insoluble membrane fractions from liver in mice with Niemann-Pick
disease type C. Biochim Biophys Acta 361:272-280.
Garver WS, Hossain GS, Winscott MM, Heidenreich RA (1999). The Npc1 mutation
causes an altered expression of caveolin-1, annexin II and protein kinases, and
phosphorylation of caveolin-1 and annexin II in murine livers. Biochim Biophys Acta
1453:193-206.
Garver WS, Heidenreich RA, Erickson RP, Thomas MA, Wilson JM (2000).
Localization of the murine Niemann-Pick C1 protein to two distinct intracellular
compartments. J Lipid Res 41:673-687.
Garver WS, Krishnan K, Michikawa M, Gallagos J, Francis GA, Heidenreich RA
(2002). Niemann-Pick C1 protein regulates cholesterol transport to the trans-Golgi
network and plasma membrane caveolae. J Lipid Res 43:579-589.
Garver WS, Xie C, Repa JJ, Turley SD, Dietschy JM (2005). Niemann-Pick C1
expression is not regulated by the amount of cholesterol flowing through cells in the
mouse. J Lipid Res 46:1745-1754.
Garver WS, Jelinek D, Oyarzo JN, Flynn J, Zuckerman M, Krishnan K, Chung BH,
Heidenreich RA (2007). Characterization of liver disease and lipid metabolism in the
Niemann-Pick C1 mouse. J Cell Biochem 101:498-516.
Garver WS, Jelinek D, Francis GA, Murphy BD (2008). The Niemann-Pick C1 gene
is downregulated by feedback inhibition of the SREBP pathway in human fibroblasts.
J Lipid Res 49:1090-1102.
Garver WS, Francis GA, Jelinek D, Shepherd G, Flynn J, Castro G, Walsh-Vockley
C, Coppock DL, Pettit KM, Heidenreich RA, Meaney FJ (2007). The National
Niemann-Pick C1 Disease Database: Report of clinical features and medical
findings. Am J Med Genet 143:204-1211.
Garver WS, Jelinek D, Meaney FJ, Flynn J, Pettit KM, Shepherd G, Heidenreich RA,
Walsh-Vockley C, Castro G, Francis GA (2010). The National Niemann-Pick type C1
Disease Database: Correlation of lipid profiles, mutations, and biochemical
phenotypes. J Lipid Res 51:406-415.
Jelinek D, Erickson RP, Heidenreich RA, Garver WS (2009). Decreased Npc1 gene
dosage is associated with increased weight gain in mice. Obesity 10:1-3.