Research Expertise and Interest
biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and physiology of adipogenesis, thermogenesis, lipogenesis and lipolysis
Research Description
Molecular and cellular biology of adipose tissue development, brown fat formation and browning of white fat, factors critical for thermogenesis, soluble factors and their receptors that work in keeping the adipose precursors or expansion of adipose tissue. Enzymes critical for lipogenesis and lipolysis, Transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of lipogenesis and lipolysis in response to insulin/feeding.
In the News
To Trigger Body’s Energy-Burning Brown Fat, Just Chill
UC Berkeley researchers found that exposure to cold temperatures increases levels of a newly discovered protein, Zfp516, that is critical for the formation of brown fat, the type of fat in our bodies that generates heat.
New gene found that turns carbs into fat, could be target for future drugs
A gene that helps the body convert that big plate of holiday cookies you just polished off into fat could provide a new target for potential treatments for fatty liver disease, diabetes and obesity. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are unlocking the molecular mechanisms of how our body converts dietary carbohydrates into fat.