Research Focus

Inflammation and innate immunity in metabolic disease

Previous and Current Research

The scientific focus of our group is at the crossroads of Immunology, Inflammation, Vascular Medicine and Metabolism; we try to merge Basic Science and Translational Medicine. We aim at identifying the role of mechanisms pertinent to immunology and vascular inflammation, especially leukocyte recruitment and activation, in the regulation of metabolic pathologies, such as the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as further chronic inflammatory disorders.

Immunometabolism: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of the crosstalk between inflammation and metabolism.

Emerging evidence points to a major role of inflammation and immune cells, such as macrophages and T cells in metabolic organs, such as the adipose tissue or the liver for the development of obesity-related metabolic disease, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In this context, we are studying several pathways linking components of innate immunity or of adaptive immunity  to the development of obesity-related insulin resistance and liver disease.

Future Projects and Goals

We are trying to understand the connection between inflammation and metabolism. In particular, we study the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying inflammatory cell crosstalk with parenchymal cells in the adipose tissue and liver in the course of obesity and in diabetes mellitus.