Main interest of our lab is the regulation of the energy homeostasis. Using integrative approaches and mice as a model organism, in combination with in vitro systems, computational biology and bioinformatics, and cohorts of human patients we aim at determining the importance of the brown (beige) fat cells within the white adipose tissue in regulation of metabolism. Our goal is to develop novel strategies to improve insulin sensitivity, induce weight loss and fat browning, and identify the underlying molecular mechanisms of the physiological stimuli that improve metabolic health. Our research also focuses on the importance of the immune system and the gut microbiota–host signalling axes in regulating the energy homeostasis. With our recent work, we identified new physiological stimuli that lead to browning of the fat, established that the gut microbiota contributes to these processes, and identified molecular axes of these interactions. In a complementary line of research, we focus on the gastrointestinal tract, and the ways by which we can modulate its resorptive capacity.

 

Keywords

• Adipose tissue
• adipocytes
• beige fat
• browning
• gut microbiota
• intestine
• obesity
• diabetes
• osteoporosis
• metagenomics
• multiomics
• microbiota-host signalling