Research Program: Prevention & Etiology
Dean and Professor, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Director, Minnesota Obesity Center

aslevine@umn.edu
612-626-7173 — office
Preferred method of contact: e-mail

Dr. Levine is dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota. Prior to this position, he was head of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, and he was the associate director of research and a senior career scientist at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr. Levine is also director of the Minnesota Obesity Center, a National Institutes of Health-funded collaborative research group of over 55 federally funded investigators from the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, HealthPartners, and Hennepin County Medical Center.

Research Interests

Dr. Levine's research focus for the past 25 years has been on neural regulation of food intake, particularly related to the opioid peptides and Neuropeptide Y. He has published over 260 scientific papers and over 85 review articles, editorials and book reviews. He has received two major awards for his research efforts; one from the American Institute of Nutrition (Mead Johnson Award) and one from the American College of Nutrition (Grace A. Goldsmith Award).

Selected Publications

Olszewski PK, Cedernaes J, Olsson F, Levine AS, Schiöth HB. Analysis of the network of feeding neuroregulators using the Allen Brain Atlas. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32(5):945-56. Epub 2008 Mar 29.

Fredriksson, R., Hägglund, M., Olszewski, P.K., Stephansson, O., Josefin, A., Jacobsson, J.A., Olszewska, A.M., Levine, A.S., Linblom, J. and Schiöth, H.B The obesity gene, FTO, is of ancient origin, upregulated during food deprivation and expressed in neurons of feeding-related nuclei of the brain., Endocrinology. 2008 May;149(5):2062-71. Epub 2008 Jan 24.

Olszewski, P.K., Bomberg, E.M., Grace, M.K. and Levine. A.S. Alpha-Melanocyte stimulating hormone and ghrelin: central interaction in feeding control. Peptides: 28 (10), 2084-2089, 2007.

Wang C.F., Bomberg, E., Levine, A.S., Billington, C.J.,and Kotz, C.M, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus reduces energy intake.  American Journal of Physiology: 293, R1037-R1045, 2007.

Wang C.F., Bomberg, E., Billington, C.J., Levine, A.S. and Kotz, C.M. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus increases energy expenditure by elevating metabolic rate. American Journal of Physiology: 293, R992-R1002, 2007.

Olszewski, P.K. and Levine, A.S. Central opioids and consumption of sweet tastants: when reward outweighs homeostasis. Physiology and Behavior 91: 506-512, 2007.

Jeffery, R.W., Rydell, S., Dunn, C.L., Harnack, L.J., Levine, A. S., Pentel, P. R., Baxter, J.E., and Walsh, E.M.. Effects of portion size on chronic energy intake. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 4: 27, 2007.

Naleid, A., Grace, M., Chimunkangara, M., Billington, C. and Levine, A.S. Paraventricular opioids alter high-fat but not high sucrose diet depending on diet preference in a "binge" model of feeding. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, 293: R99-105, 2007.

Bomberg E.M., Grace, M.K., Wirth, M.M., Levine, A.S. and Olszewski, P.K. Central ghrelin induces feeding driven by energy needs not by reward. Neuroreport 18:591-5, 2007.

Olszewski, P.K., Bomberg, E.M., Martell, A., Grace, M.K. and Levine, A.S. Intracerebroventricular ghrelin activates oxytocin neurons: implications in feeding behavior. Neuroreport 18: 4999-503, 2007.

Bomberg, E.M., Grace, M.K., Levine, A.S. and Olszewski, P.K. Functional interaction between nociceptin/orphanin FQ and alpha melanoctye-stimulating hormone in the regulation of feeding. Peptides 27:1827-34, 2006.

Jewett, D.C., Lefever, T.W., Flashinski, D.P., Koffarnus, M.N., Cameron, C.R., Hehli, D.J., Grace, M.K., and Levine, A.S. Intraparaventricular neuropeptide Y and ghrelin induce learned behaviors which report food deprivation in rats. Neuroreport 17:733-7. 2006.

Teske J.A., Levine A.S., Kuskowski M., Levine J.A. and Kotz C.M. Elevated hypothalamic orexin signaling, sensitivity to orexin A, and spontaneous physical activity in obesity-resistant rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 291:R889-99. 2006.

Li D, Olszewski P.K., Shi Q., Grace M.K., Billington C.J., Kotz C.M. and Levine A.S. Effect of opioid receptor ligands injected into the rostral lateral hypothalamus on c-fos and feeding behavior. Brain Research 1096: 120-4, 2006.

Thorpe, AJ, Cleary, JP, Levine, AS and Kotz, CM. Centrally administered orexin A increases motivation for sweet pellets under a PR5 schedule in rats. Psychopharmacology 182: 75-83, 2005.

Naleid, A.M., Grace, M.K., Cummings, D.E., and Levine, A.S. Ghrelin induces feeding in the mesolimbic reward pathway between the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens. Peptides 26: 2274-2279, 2005.

Jewett, D.C., Grace, M.K., and Levine, A.S. Chronic sucrose ingestion enhances mu-opioid discriminative stimulus effects. Brain Research 1050, 48-52, 2005.

Levine, A.S., Winsky-Sommerer, R., Huitron-Resendiz, S., Grace, M.K. and de Lecea, L. Injection of neuropeptide W into the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus increases food intake. American Journal of Physiology, 288, R1727-1732, 2005.

Kim, E.M., Quinn, J.G., Levine, A.S., O'Hare, E. A bi-directional mu-opioid-opioid connection between the nucleus of the accumbens shell and the central nucleus of the amygdale in the rat. Brain Research 1029: 135-139, 2004.

MacDonald, A.F., Billington, C.J. and Levine, A.S. Alterations in food intake by opioid and dopamine signaling pathways between the Ventral Tegmental Area and the shell of the Nucleus Accumbens. Brain Research 1018: 78-85, 2004.

Levine, A.S., Olszewski, P.K., Mullett, M.A., Pomonis, J.D., Grace, M.K., Kotz, C.M., and Billington, C.J. Intra-amygdalar injection of DAMGO: Effects on c-Fos levels in brain site associated with feeding behavior. Brain Research 1015: 9-14, 2004.