Sam Lawton

Metabolism, cardiovascular, neuroscience

Research Experience

Medical College of Wisconsin, 2023-Present
Advisors: Justin Grobe, PhD
Project: The Role of AT1R-expressing Agouti-Related Peptide Neurons in Cardiometabolic Control

University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2016-2018
Advisor: John Doebley, PhD
Project: Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of inflorescence architecture domestication traits in maize-teosinte hybrid populations

Publications

Pasos J, Wagner VA, Lawton SBR, Madison AM, Nandani K, Mathieu NM, Grobe CC, Reho JJ, Freudinger BP, Sherman AJ, Brozoski DT, Morselli LL, Burnett CML, Segar JL, Nakagawa P, Sigmund CD, Grobe JL. Angiotensin AT1R expressing cells within the ventral hypothalamus modulate integrative control of cardiometabolic functions. iScience. 2025;28(7).

Golosova D, Kumar G, Chaihongsa N, Reho JJ, Lu KT, Brozoski DT, Wackman KK, Lawton SBR, Muskus PC, Lin BL, Grobe JL, Nakagawa P, Sigmund CD. Role of the Renin-Angiotensin System in Blood Pressure Regulation in Smooth Muscle-Specific Cullin-3 Deficient Mice. Hypertension. 2025 Jul;82(7):1208-1220.

Ziegler AA, Lawton SBR, Fekete EM, Brozoski DT, Wagner VA, Grobe CC, Sigmund CD, Nakagawa P, Grobe JL, Segar JL. Early-life sodium restriction programs autonomic dysfunction and salt sensitivity in male C57BL/6J mice. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2025 Jan 01;328(1):R109-R120. PMCID: PMC11905802

Lawton SBR, Wagner VA, Nakagawa P, Segar JL, Sigmund CD, Morselli LL, Grobe JL. Angiotensin in the Arcuate: Mechanisms Integrating Cardiometabolic Control: The 2022 COH Mid-Career Award for Research Excellence. Hypertension. 2024 Nov;81(11):2209-2217. PMCID: PMC11483214

Lawton SB, Grobe CC, Reho JJ, Raff H, Thulin JD, Jensen ES, Burnett CM, Segar JL, Grobe JL. Differences in Fluid, Electrolyte, and Energy Balance in C57BL/6J Mice (Mus musculus) in Metabolic Caging at Thermoneutral or Standard Room Temperatures. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2024 Mar 1;63(2):190-200. doi: 10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-23-000091. Epub 2024 Jan 8. PMID: 38191147; PMCID: PMC11022944.

Ziegler AA, Lawton SBR, Grobe CC, Reho JJ, Freudinger BP, Burnett CML, Nakagawa P, Grobe JL, Segar JL. Early-life sodium deprivation programs long-term changes in ingestive behaviors and energy expenditure in C57BL/6J mice. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2023 Nov 1;325(5):R576-R592. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00137.2023. Epub 2023 Sep 18. PMID: 37720996; PMCID: PMC10866575.

Grobe CC, Reho JJ, Brown-Williams D, Ziegler AA, Mathieu NM, Lawton SBR, Fekete EM, Brozoski DT, Wackman KK, Burnett CML, Nakagawa P, Sigmund CD, Segar JL, Grobe JL. Cardiometabolic Effects of DOCA-Salt in Mice Depend on Ambient Temperature. Hypertension. 2023 Sep;80(9):1871-1880. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.20415. Epub 2023 Jul 20. PMID: 37470185; PMCID: PMC10528934.

Chen Q, Yang CJ, York AM, Xue W, Daskalska LL, DeValk CA, Krueger KW, Lawton SB, Spiegelberg BG, Schnell JM, Neumeyer MA, Perry JS, Peterson AC, Kim B, Bergstrom L, Yang L, Barber IC, Tian F, Doebley JF. TeoNAM: A Nested Association Mapping Population for Domestication and Agronomic Trait Analysis in Maize. Genetics. 2019 Nov;213(3):1065-1078. doi: 10.1534/genetics.119.302594. Epub 2019 Sep 3. PMID: 31481533; PMCID: PMC6827374.

Meeting Abstracts

Lawton SBR, Reho JJ, Lu K, Grobe CC, Segar JL, Sigmund CD, Grobe JL. Targeted Apoptosis of Melanocortin Type 4 Receptor (MC4R)-Expressing Cells Within the Preoptic Area of the Hypothalamus Causes Rapid Weight Gain in Adult Mice. American Physiology Society 3rd Annual Summit, Baltimore, MD. May 2025. [Poster]

Lawton SBR, Ziegler AA, Grobe CC, Wagner VA, Brozoski DT, Fekete EM, Sigmund CD, Nakagawa P, Grobe JL, Segar JL. Early-Life Sodium Restriction Programs Salt-Sensitivity of Autonomics and Blood Pressure in Adult C57BL/6J Mice. Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2024, Chicago, IL. September 2024. [Oral]

General Interests

Volleyball, baking, hiking, gardening