Brown Fat and Cardiovascular Health

A Leducq Foundation Funded Network examining brown fat and cardiovascular health through genetic determinants and molecular mechanisms.

About Us

Our Team

 

 

 

 

Team

 

Leducq Network Member Labs

 

The goal of our highly interdisciplinary proposal is to elucidate genetic determinants of human brown fat function and the molecular mechanisms underlying its metabolic and cardiovascular benefits. During our first year of funding, our collaborative team has already made significant progress towards these goals.

European Coordinator
Sadaf Farooqi, University of Cambridge (UK)

North American Coordinator
Robert Gerszten, Beth Israel deaconess Medical Center (USA)

Members

- Paul Cohen, Rockefeller University (USA)

- Mariona Graupera, Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute (Spain)

- Yuval Itan, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (USA)

- Tayfun Ozcelik, Bilkent University (Turkey)

- Rhian Touyz, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (Canada)

- Thomas Wang, UT Southwestern Medical Center (USA)

 

Member Labs

Research Areas

The goal of our highly interdisciplinary work is to determine the basis for the metabolic and cardiovascular benefits of brown fat. We will achieve this goal through three aims: investigating genetic regulation of brown fat function, studying the cardiovascular and metabolic benefits conferred by brown fat, and identifying effectors and circulating biomarkers of brown fat function. This research has the potential to identify entirely new therapeutic targets to disrupt the connection between obesity and associated cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Genetic Regulation

Investigating the genetic regulation of brown fat function

Cardiometabolic Mechanisms 

cold vest

Studying the cardiovascular and metabolic benefits conferred by brown fat

 

Effectors and Biomarkers

Identifying effectors and circulating biomarkers of brown fat function