WHO WE ARE
More about our research.
The main purpose of our lab is to identify and characterize molecular mechanisms involved in the aging process and in response to dietary interventions. We pay particular interest to understand how metabolism contributes to the genesis of age-related diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. We focus on the fat tissue - an important site of metabolic integration in multicellular organisms - and ask ourselves how this tissue responds to changes in energy balance and signals to other tissues to inform them about these changes. If not adjusted, this mechanism leads to several chronic diseases, especially in middle aged and elderly individuals. We identified that this control is at least in part exerted by changes in microRNA biogenesis in adipose tissue. When regulated, this process affects animal susceptibility to oxidative stress and influences lifespan.
