Early changes in body fat that lead to diabetes and heart-related metabolic disease
Multimodal omics approach to identify health to cardiometabolic disease transitions
Researchers will examine molecular changes in fat tissue from men and women to find early signals that healthy metabolism is shifting toward type 2 diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11128640 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team will study both subcutaneous and visceral (belly) fat using modern 'omics' methods that measure gene activity (RNA-seq) and chromatin accessibility (ATAC-seq) at bulk and single-cell levels. They will look for cell-type-specific inflammatory and epigenetic changes that mark the transition from healthy to disease states. Findings will be combined with genetic data from large biobanks to search for genes and gene-by-sex or gene-by-environment interactions that raise cardiometabolic risk. The focus is on obesity-related changes that promote insulin resistance, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be adults with varying body weights, especially those with obesity or metabolic risk factors, who can provide adipose tissue samples or have linked genetic and health data in biobanks.
Not a fit: People without available tissue or genetic data, or those seeking immediate clinical treatment changes, are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify people at higher risk earlier and point to more personalized prevention approaches based on fat-tissue biology.
How similar studies have performed: Related omics projects have found molecular signatures in fat, but combining single-cell ATAC-seq, RNA-seq, and large biobank genetics in a sex-specific way is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Los Angeles, United States
- University of California Los Angeles — Los Angeles, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pajukanta, Paivi — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Pajukanta, Paivi
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.