Sean H. Adams, M.S., Ph.D. for UC Davis Health

Sean H. Adams, M.S., Ph.D.

Vice Chair for Basic Research, Department of Surgery

Professor, Department of Surgery

Reviews

Specialties

Department

Surgery

Locations and Contact

Research II

Research II
4625 2nd Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95817

Get Directions

Additional Numbers

Clinic Phone

916-734-4868

Physician Referrals

800-4-UCDAVIS (800-482-3284)

Philosophy of Care

Dr. Adams serves as the Scientific Director for the UC Davis Center for Alimentary and Metabolic Science (CAMS). The mission of the CAMS is to conduct research that spans from the molecule to the bedside, to expand fundamental knowledge that has relevance to improve health and thwart disease.

Clinical Interests

Dr. Adams is a research professor who works closely with clinical colleagues in Surgery and other departments to study the origins of metabolic disease, and to identify factors that promote metabolic health. He has special expertise in nutrition and metabolism.

Research/Academic Interests

Dr. Adams and his colleagues at the UC Davis Center for Alimentary and Metabolic Science research  factors that regulate one's metabolism and risk for metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Molecular links that impact metabolic health stem from dietary patterns, physical fitness and muscle physiology, and from the naturally-occurring bacteria in the gut (aka, the gut microbiome) that produce xenometabolites. Research in these areas is relevant to culinary medicine, diabetes prevention and treatment, and development of new therapeutics to prevent or treat metabolic disease.

Division

Foregut, Metabolic and General Surgery
General Surgery

Center/Program Affiliation

Center for Alimentary and Metabolic Science

Undergraduate School

B.A., Biology, California State University, Fresno CA 1988

Other School

M.S., Marine Sciences, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA 1990

Other School

Ph.D., Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana IL 1994

Fellowship

Biochemistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain 1994-1995

Fellowship

Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX 1995-1998

Associate Editor, Advances in Nutrition, 2014, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Fellow, The Obesity Society, 2017

International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America Future Leader Award, 2009

National Science Foundation/North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NSF/NATO) Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 1994

Publications may be found at the GoogleScholar website: 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=emVEsYkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Diaz EC, Adams SH, Weber JL, Cotter M, Børsheim E. Elevated LDL-C, high blood pressure, and low peak V˙ O2 associate with platelet mitochondria function in children-The Arkansas Active Kids Study. Front Mol Biosci. 2023 Mar 22;10:1136975. doi:10.3389/fmolb.2023.1136975. PMID:37033448.

Kasperek MC, Mailing L, Piccolo BD, Moody B, Lan R, Gao X, Hernandez-Saavedra D, Woods JA, Adams SH, Allen JM. Exercise training modifies xenometabolites in gut and circulation of lean and obese adults. Physiol Rep. 2023 Mar;11(6):e15638. doi:10.14814/phy2.15638. PMID:36945966.

Arriola JM, Lyo V, Ahmed SM, Adams SH, Ali MR. Assessment of Obesity-Related Metabolic Comorbidity: An Objective Tool That More Accurately Identifies Metabolic Disease. J Am College Surgeons. 2022 Nov;235(5):S4. doi:10.1097/01.XCS.0000893004.24520.a1.

Adepu KK, Bhandari D, Anishkin A, Adams SH, Chintapalli SV. Myoglobin-Pyruvate Interactions: Binding Thermodynamics, Structure-Function Relationships, and Impact on Oxygen Release Kinetics. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Aug 6;23(15):8766. doi:10.3390/ijms23158766. PMID:35955898.

Felgus-Lavefve L, Howard L, Adams SH, Baum JI. The Effects of Blueberry Phytochemicals on Cell Models of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress. Adv Nutr. 2022 Aug 1;13(4):1279-1309. doi:10.1093/advances/nmab137. PMID:34791023.

Adams SH, Wright R, Piccolo BD, Moody B, Sikes J, Avaritt N, Chintapalli SV, Ou X. C-section increases cecal abundance of the archetypal bile acid and glucocorticoid modifying Lachnoclostridium [clostridium] scindens in mice. Physiol Rep. 2022 Jul;10(13):e15363. doi:10.14814/phy2.15363. PMID:35778808.

Felgus-Lavefve L, Adams S, Howard L, Ono-Moore K, Kaufmann Y, Diaz E. Wild-Blueberry Volatile and Phenolic Fractions Mitigate LPS-Induced Inflammatory Responses in Whole Blood of Children. Curr Developments Nutrition. 2022 Jun 14;6(Supplement_1):979. doi:10.1093/cdn/nzac068.008.

Newman JW, Krishnan S, Borkowski K, Adams SH, Stephensen CB, Keim NL. Assessing Insulin Sensitivity and Postprandial Triglyceridemic Response Phenotypes With a Mixed Macronutrient Tolerance Test. Front Nutr. 2022 May 11;9:877696. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.877696. PMID:35634390.

Adepu KK, Bhandari D, Anishkin A, Adams SH, Chintapalli SV. Myoglobin Interaction with Lactate Rapidly Releases Oxygen: Studies on Binding Thermodynamics, Spectroscopy, and Oxygen Kinetics. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Apr 26;23(9):4747. doi:10.3390/ijms23094747. PMID:35563138.