Peng Zhao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Currently seeking M.S. & Ph.D. students
The overall theme of our research is the regulation of energy homeostasis, lipid metabolism, inflammation and cell death in mammalian systems, with special emphasis on adipose tissue, liver, immune system, and blood vessels. We work at biochemical and physiological levels, employing clinical knowledge, genetically engineered animal models, surgically, dietarily or chemically-induced disease models, and multi-omics approaches to identify new therapeutic targets for human diseases.
Obesity is a major risk factor for numerous diseases, particularly insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Our lab investigates the regulation of energy metabolism, glucose metabolism, and lipid metabolism to identify new therapeutic strategies to treat diabetes.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has become a major cause of end-stage liver diseases including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our lab is interested in understanding the causes of the heterogeneous pathology of NASH, including hepatic steatosis, inflammation, liver injury, and fibrosis with the goal of identifying novel targets to reverse NASH and prevent its progression to HCC.
-
Professional Background
Education
- 2020 - Postdoctoral fellow - University of California San Diego
- 2014 - Ph.D. - Louisiana State University/Pennington Biomedical Research Center
-
- Research & Grants
- Publications