Chad Paton

Chad Paton serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science & Technology within the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia. His research laboratory is based on the CAES Campus in Athens, Georgia, where he investigates nutritional regulation of metabolic pathways using molecular, cellular, and whole-animal approaches. Contact is available via email cpaton@uga.edu or phone 706-542-3750.

Dr. Paton's research program centers on nutrient-mediated control of metabolic activity, with particular emphasis on:

• Diet-induced obesity mechanisms using mouse models
• Exercise interventions (chronic and acute) in metabolic regulation
• Gene knockout/overexpression studies of fatty acid oxidation
• Glucose uptake and insulin signaling pathways
• Transcriptional regulation of metabolism via molecular biology
• Epigenetic alterations through DNA demethylation

Analysis of his 2022-2025 publications reveals sustained investigation into dietary lipid effects, particularly cottonseed oil and pecans. His work demonstrates how dihydrosterculic acid suppresses desaturase activity, while pecan-enriched diets improve cholesterol profiles, reduce lipid peroxidation, and enhance microvascular reactivity. Key mechanistic insights include angiopoietin-like protein regulation of lipid metabolism and linoleic acid's impact on skeletal muscle differentiation via Wnt/β-catenin suppression.

No scientific awards are documented in available sources.

Dr. Paton leads a translational research program bridging basic science and human nutrition. His laboratory employs mouse models of fatty liver disease alongside human clinical trials examining postprandial responses to nut-enriched diets in aging populations and cardiovascular disease risk groups. Current work focuses on metabolomic profiling of dietary interventions and cephalic phase insulin responses to artificial sweeteners.