Research focus
The annual costs to society attributable to overweight and obesity are projected to reach £49.9 billion in the UK by 2050. Our aim is to reduce this enormous health burden by understanding why obesity is so strongly associated with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2DM), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We know insulin resistance is the major factor underpinning the association between obesity and metabolic diseases, but despite decades of research, the mechanisms responsible for causing insulin resistance remain unclear.
The overall aims of my research are:
1. To understand the primary cause(s) of insulin resistance - the major factor underpinning the association between obesity and metabolic diseases;
2. To understand the regulation of leptin - hormone that acts on central brain circuits to regulate appetite and energy expenditure.
Background and experience
I initially trained in clinical medicine in China and developed a huge interest in hormone-related diseases during my internship in hospitals. I then moved to Australia for PhD training where I gained valuable experience in molecular biology and learned more about the underlying mechanisms of metabolic diseases. Now I work as a postdoctoral researcher in the IMS-MRL which has provided the opportunity to learn in a versatile research environment and contribute to novel solutions to address metabolic diseases. In my role, I really enjoy being surrounded by a group of like-minded, friendly people with enthusiasm in research and valuable expertise.
Working at the IMS-MRL
Research data suggest that human insulin resistance could be very rapidly reversed (within a few days) after bariatric surgery. In order to determine the mechanisms underlying the remarkably rapid reversal of insulin resistance after reduced caloric intake, we have established a mouse model which phenocopies this rapid reversal of insulin resistance. Combining both hypothesis-driven and hypothesis-free approaches, we aim to identify the intracellular drivers of insulin resistance using a range of techniques, including RNAseq, proteomics and lipidomics analysis.
Meanwhile, to further understand obesity, we apply a large-scale knock-down screen of transcriptional factors in mature adipocytes to study the regulation of hormone leptin – fat cells-secreted peptide hormone that acts on central brain circuits to regulate appetite and energy expenditure.
