Our laboratory focuses on Nutritional Health Science, Nutritional Epigenetics, and epigenetic regulation of gene expression, with the overarching goal of understanding how nutritional and metabolic cues influence disease susceptibility across the lifespan. By integrating mouse models with in vitro cellular systems, our research connects developmental biology, metabolism, and epigenetic regulation to uncover mechanisms that shape long-term health and disease risk. A major research focus of our lab is adipose tissue biology and energy homeostasis. We investigate adipose tissue not merely as an energy storage organ, but as an active regulator of systemic metabolism. Our work has identified key roles of endogenous ketone body signaling in adipose progenitor fate determination and beige adipocyte development, revealing how metabolic states can instruct cell identity and thermogenic capacity. We further examine the context-dependent functions of beige adipocytes in disease, including their interactions with the tumor microenvironment. In parallel, our research in nutritional epigenetics and developmental programming explores how nutritional status during prenatal and early postnatal life establishes long-lasting epigenetic memory. We focus on mechanisms such as DNA methylation and chromatin remodeling that link early-life environments to persistent transcriptional reprogramming and altered cardiometabolic outcomes. Overall, our research aims to establish an integrated framework explaining how early-life nutrition and metabolic signals shape cell fate, tissue function, and lifelong disease risk, providing mechanistic insight with strong relevance for the prevention and treatment of metabolic and chronic diseases.
