Research Interests
Cell Biology and Immunology Research: Current research focuses on the interactions of the immune system and adipose tissue. Adipose tissue inflammation is a key feature of obesity and is implicated in major health problems such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Specifically, we are investigating potential regulatory interactions between B lymphocytes and adipocytes, with a goal of determining how such mechanisms influence adipose tissue inflammation. In addition, a long-standing research interest is understanding how cells adapt to stressful conditions that increase demands on the secretory pathway. Such stress can be physiologic, such as during the differentiation of antibody-secreting plasma cells in an immune response, or pathophysiologic, as in cancer.
Research capabilities include mammalian cell culture and cellular, biochemical, and molecular techniques to investigate gene expression and protein function, cell differentiation and function, and cell proliferation and viability.