Annie Smelter
M.D./Ph.D. Student
Annie Smelter is a graduate student in the (MD/PhD Program) studying metabolic diseases under the mentorship of Luke Norton, Ph.D.. For her research, Annie is working on studying the spatial metabolic effects of glucagon receptor agonism in the liver, as a basis for improving obesity therapeutics. For her clinical specialty, Annie is considering pursuing cardiology.
About Me
My name is Annie Smelter, and I moved to San Antonio from Madison, Wisconsin where I spent the second half of my life after immigrating from Scotland as a child. I went to Edgewood College, a small private school in Madison, for my undergraduate education in biology/chemistry and then spent four years working at a biotechnology company focused on stem cell research. I’m obsessed with my husband, our three cats, and anything fun to do outdoors!
Hobbies/Interests
Hiking, rock climbing, skydiving, reading, playing classical piano, cat cuddles
Research Topic
Cardiovascular disease/Diabetes
Why I chose MD/PhD
Many of my early research mentors were MD-trained scientists who provided an example of a new-to-me career. As a physician-scientist, I can directly treat patients, as well as make discoveries in the lab that are influenced by my patients and can be used to improve care for patients in the future. An MD-PhD program was my ideal training pathway to best prepare me for both aspects of the career.
Why I chose MD/PhD at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø
The South 17³Ô¹ÏÍø MSTP stood out as a program due to the great people involved and the genuine excitement for and focus on translational research. Also, I really wanted to move to 17³Ô¹ÏÍø!
Post-bac work or other affiliations
FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics Inc.
Education
B.S., Biology, Edgewood College, 2019
Publications
Farrell, E. T., Grimes, A. C., de Lange, W. J., Armstrong, A. E., & Ralphe, J.C. (2017). Increased Postnatal Cardiac Hyperplasia Precedes Cardiomyocytes Hypertrophy in a Model of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Frontiers in Physiology, 8:414.
Farrell, E. T., Armstrong, A. E., Grimes, A. C., Naya, F. J., de Lange, W. J.,& Ralphe, J.C. (2017). Transcriptome Analysis of Cardiac Hypertrophic Growth in MYBPC3-null Mice Suggests Early Responders in Hypertrophic Remodeling. Frontiers in Physiology, 9:1442.
Shannon, C. E., Bakewell, T., Fourcaudot, M. J., Ayala, I., Smelter, A. A., Hinostroza, E. A., Romero, G., Asmis, M., Freitas Lima, L. C., Wallace, M., & Norton, L. (2024). The mitochondrial pyruvate carrier regulates adipose glucose partitioning in female mice. Molecular Metabolism, 88, 102005.
Ayala, I., Hebbale, S. K., Mononen, J., Brearley-Sholto, M. C., Shannon, C. E., Valdez, I., Fourcaudot, M., Bakewell, T. M., Zagorska, A., Romero, G., Asmis, M., Musa, F. A., Sily, J. T., Smelter, A. A., Hinostroza, E. A., Freitas Lima, L. C., de Aguiar Vallim, T. Q., Heikkinen, S., & Norton, L. (2025). The Spatial Transcriptional Activity of Hepatic TCF7L2 Regulates Zonated Metabolic Pathways that Contribute to Liver Fibrosis. Nature Communications, 16(1), 3408.
Smelter, A. A., Frei, C. R., & Smelter, D. F. (2025). Successful clearance of persistent Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia with high-dose continuous infusion cefazolin. ASM Case Reports, 1(3).
Bolte, J,. Smelter, A. A., and Norton, L. (2025) Are we giving too much weight to lean mass loss? Molecular Metabolism. 101:102253