Dr Catherine Hambly
Research Fellow
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+44 (0)1224 273637
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c.hambly@abdn.ac.uk
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Rm 305
Zoology Department
School of Biological Sciences
Aberdeen University
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
BSc Hons (Glasgow University 1996); PhD (Aberdeen University 2001)
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Personal Details
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Research Interests
My interests lie in small animal energetics.
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Current Research
PhD
I conducted my PhD on the energy cost of bird flight using 13C labelled bicarbonate. I measured the energy demands of flight in zebra finches, sunbirds, starlings and cockatiels. Major findings were that the flights costs when carrying loads were much lower than expected.
Post-doctoral studies
- I am now examining the effects of caloric restriction on energy expenditure and appetite signals in mice. The majority of this work has been to determine if body mass is controlled by a regulatory feedback system and what drives this system.
- I have conducted several studies (i) looking at gorging in mice and its effect on weight loss caused by the initiation of energy compensation mechanisms and (ii) quantifying stress in laboratory rodents using non-invasive detection of steroid products in faeces.
- My most recent studies involve analysing blood samples to assess the levels of circulatory hormones related to appetite and satiety in humans with eating disorders.
- I am also examining whether limits to sustained energy intake at peak lactation are imposed by the capacity of the animal to dissipate body heat. This work is conducted on bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), a small wild animal with low litter size.
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Funding
NERC
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Selected Publications
Speakman JR, Hambly C, Mitchell SE and Król E (In Press) Animal models of obesity. Government Foresight Document.
Speakman JR and Hambly C (In Press) Starving for life – what animal studies can, and cannot, tell us about the use of caloric restriction to prolong human lifespan. Journal of Nutrition
Hambly C, Markman S, Roxburgh L and Pinshow B (In press) Seasonal sex-specific energy expenditure in breeding and non-breeding birds. J Avian Biology
Hunt C and Hambly C (2006) Separately housed male mice are not more stressed than group housed males, even with only basic enrichment. Physiol and Behav 87: 519-526
Hambly C and Speakman JR (2005) Contribution of different mechanisms to compensation for energy restriction in the mouse. Obesity Research 13: 1548-1557
Rance KA, Fustin JM, Dalgleish GD, Hambly C, Bunger L and Speakman JR (2005) A paternally imprinted QTL for mature body mass on mouse chromosome 8. Mammalian Genome 16: 567-577
Hambly C, Fustin JM, Rance K, Bünger L, Hill WG and Speakman JR (2005) Mice with low metabolic rates are not susceptible to weight gain under a high fat diet. Obesity Research 13: 556 -566
Hambly C, Pinshow B, Wiersma P, Verhulst S, Piertney SB, Harper EJ and Speakman JR (2004) Comparison of the cost of short flights in a nectarivorous and non-nectarivorous bird. J Exp Biol 207: 3959-3968
Hambly C, Harper EJ and Speakman (2004) The energy cost of loaded flight is substantially lower than expected due to alterations in flight kinematics. J Exp Biol 207: 3969-3976
Hambly C, Harper EJ and Speakman (2004) The energetic cost of variations in wingspan and wing asymmetry in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). J Exp Biol 207: 3977-3986
Hambly C, Harper EJ and Speakman (2002) Cost of flight in the zebra finch (Taenopygia guttata): a novel approach based on elimination of 13C labelled bicarbonate. J Comp Physiol 172: 529-539
Jackson DM, Hambly C, Trayhurn P and Speakman JR (2001) Can non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue following NA injection be qualified by changes in overlying surface temperatures using infrared thermography? J Thermal Biology. 26: 85-93
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