Soonkyu Chung
Obesity, brown adipocytes, adipose Inflammation, dietary polyphenols, epigenetics
Contact details
Location
Goessmann Building
686 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
United States
About
Soonkyu Chung’s research centers on lipid metabolism and signaling pathways in brown and white adipocytes seeking metabolic targets to prevent and/or treat obesity and insulin resistance. We aim to investigate the molecular mechanism by which dietary bioactive molecules (e.g., omega-3 fatty acid, tocotrienol, red raspberry polyphenols and their gut metabolites) suppress adipose tissue inflammation and promote brown thermogenesis. The ultimate goal is to establish safe and effective dietary intervention strategies to attenuate the prevalence of obesity and its pathogenic progression to type 2 diabetes.
The major ongoing research projects in Chung’s lab.
1. Identification of iron regulatory network that promotes brown adipocyte formation
2. Mechanisms by which maternal n-3 PUFA intake regulates fetal brown fat development and metabolic imprinting
3. Role of gut metabolites derived from red raspberry polyphenols in regulating obesity and insulin resistance
4. Nutritional intervention strategy to attenuate cancer cachexia by inhibiting activin A-mediated lipodystrophy.