The following grant application is for a Physician Scientist Award which will provide five years of research support for the candidate, who is currently a second year Research Fellow in the Division of Endocrinology and metabolism at Emory University School of Medicine. The candidate has been affiliated with the lab of the sponsor for eighteen months. The Sponsor holds an appointment in the Department of Biochemistry and is a member of the interdepartmental Endocrine Group at Emory. The period of support is divided into phase I, a two year period basic science course work, didactic training and closely supervised research efforts; and phase II, a three year period of intensified research effort and continued close interaction with the Sponsor, with emphasis on a transition towards an independent research career. The research project proposed is an extension of the clinical interest in Noninsulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus that the Candidate developed during House staff training. Research will initially focus on the evaluation of the long-chain base sphingosine, which the candidate has shown to be a potent inhibitor of insulin action, as a potential probe of the mechanisms of insulin signal transduction. Studies will then focus on the mechanism of insulin stimulated changes in hexose transporter distribution and activity. Through studies supported by the Physician Scientist Award, the candidate hopes to lay the foundation for an academic career in medicine.