Marshall McCue
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
EXPERTISE:- Metabolism/Bioenergetics
- Stable Isotope tracers
- Physiological Ecology
- Nutritional Physiology
- Fatty Acid Biochemistry
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:Khalilieh A, McCue MD, Pinshow B (in review) Physiological responses to food deprivation in the house sparrow, a species not adapted to prolonged fasting.
McCue MD (2012) Horizons in starvation research. in McCue MD, ed. The Comparative Physiology of Fasting Starvation and Food Limitation. Springer–Verlag, Berlin.Khalilieh A, McCue MD, Pinshow B (in review) Physiological responses to food deprivation in the house sparrow, a species not adapted to prolonged fasting.
McCue MD (2012) Horizons in starvation research. in McCue MD, ed. The Comparative Physiology of Fasting Starvation and Food Limitation. Springer–Verlag, Berlin.
Munoz–Garcia A, Aamidor S, McCue MD, McWilliams SR, Pinshow B (2012) Allocation of endogenous and dietary protein in the reconstruction of the gastrointestinal tract in migratory blackcaps at stopover sites. Journal of Experimental Biology, in press.
McCue MD, Lillywhite HB, Beaupre SJ (2012) Physiological responses to starvation in snakes: low energy specialists. in McCue MD, ed. The Comparative Physiology of Fasting, Starvation, and Food Limitation. Springer–Verlag, Berlin.
McCue MD (2011) Tracking the oxidative and non–oxidative fates of isotopically labeled nutrients in animals. BioScience, 61:217–230.
McCue MD, Smith A, McKinney R, Rewald B, Pinshow B, McWilliams SR (2011) A mass balance approach to identify and compare differential routing of 13C–labeled carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins in vivo. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 84:506–513.
Ben–Hamo M, McCue MD, McWilliams SR, Pinshow B (2011) Dietary fatty acid composition influences tissue lipid profiles and regulation of body temperature in Japanese quail. Journal of Comparative Physiology, 181:807–816.
McCue MD, McWilliams SR, Pinshow B (2011) Ontogeny and nutritional status influence oxidative kinetics of exogenous nutrients and whole–animal bioenergetics in zebra finches,
Taeniopygia guttata. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 84:32–42.
TEACHING:- General Biology I and II
- General/Human Physiology
- Comparative/Animal Physiology
EDUCATION:- B.S., University of Florida
- M.S., University of California Irvine
- Ph.D., University of Arkansas
Biological sciences professor Marshall McCue, Ph.D., wants to learn not just how living things work, but why they work the way they do. Why can a snake survive without food for up to one year whereas some birds can only tolerate one day of fasting? What happens when bats sleep?
“I am interested in using cutting–edge research techniques to explore how different organisms have adapted to meet the complex environmental challenges posed by their unique habitats,” McCue explained.
Dr. Doolittle in the lab
McCue doesn’t specialize in the intricate workings of just one species; instead, he has studied everything from snakes to insects to quails.
This summer, his research will take him to Poland where he will examine how bats sleep. Alongside scientists there, he will investigate the bioenergetics of European bats that reduce their body temperature as they sleep during the daytime—a physiological state called torpor.
But until summer, he’s taking a closer look at insect species to see how oxygen supply at the cellular level determines what kind of temperatures terrestrial arthropods can live in, and therefore, where they can live. He will also continue mentoring two honors students on a project synthesizing isotopically enriched proteins for medical and research use.
McCue’s broad use of research animals is inspired by the Krogh Principle and from his fascination with the whole organism, not just a single physiological function.
“Over the past decade,” McCue said, “I have observed a continual paradigm shift away from studying organisms as whole systems and toward a technologically driven, reductionist approach that fails to appreciate the unique emergent properties of each organism. I strive to balance these two factors in my teaching and research.”
Zoo planet
His interest in animal physiology began as he first learned about the “extraordinary diversity of form and function of organisms with which we share this planet.” It is that appreciation of the complexity and flexibility of animal life that he wants to pass on to his students.
“Ultimately, I want my students to have a deeper appreciation of the different biological mechanisms that permit different organisms to survive, and often thrive, in nearly every habitat on Earth,” McCue said.
“I want my students to understand that we share this planet with millions of other species, each of which is adapted to a particular niche–from freezing oceans to hyper–arid deserts to hypoxic mountaintops. In order to fully comprehend this magnificent biodiversity it is critical to contemplate how perpetual environmental changes and ubiquitous environmental challenges are responsible for fine–tuning the form and function of every organism through natural selection.”
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