Research Areas

We have been studying subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SC WAT) beiging in response to mirabegron, which is a ß3 adrenergic receptor (ß3AR) agonist. ß3ARs are found in adipocytes and smooth muscle, and mirabegron is an FDA approved drug for overactive bladder. Treatment of obese, insulin resistant humans for twelve weeks with mirabegron consistently induced SC WAT beiging and this led to improved oral glucose tolerance and a lower HbA1c. This may be exploited to prevent conversion of prediabetes to diabetes or used as a therapeutic in diabetics. This application will also increase our understanding of the mechanism(s) by which mirabegron acts, which may reveal new therapeutic targets.

Investigator(s):
P. Kern
Jin Chen

Funding:
1R01DK124626-01A1 (NCI/NIH)

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One of the most glaring gaps in our understanding of cancer progression is the issue of disease recurrence and how best to manage it. While primary treatment of localized tumors will often lead to long-term control or remission, many cancer survivors remain at risk for recurrences, which will require further intervention, with associated clinical resource use, adverse psychosocial effects, and costs. The objective of this proposal is to advance surveillance science by developing, validating and deploying a scalable, automated approach for identifying cancer recurrence.

Investigator(s):
B. Nikolajczyk
Jin Chen

Funding:
1R56AG069685-01 (NCI/NIH)

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In combination with our ongoing R21 studies in humans, completion of this study in rodents will generate a unique noninvasive, low-cost, fast, multiscale, and multimodal brain imaging tool for both neuroscience research and clinical applications.

Investigator(s):
Guoqiang Yu
Shawn Cheng

Funding:
1R56NS117587-01 (NCI/NIH)

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