Research  >  Labs & groups  >  Burn research and skin regeneration lab  >  Immunometabolism


Transmission electron microscopyTransmission electron microscopy image illustrating altered endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria organelle following burn injury.

Severe burn injuries are accompanied by profound metabolic alterations. Together, these alterations are clustered under a syndrome, also referred to as hypermetabolic state, which is extremely detrimental for patients.

Our team focuses on identifying the agents that mediate these alterations and understanding how they do this. In particular, we are interested in addressing the role of communication between the different metabolic organs, mainly the liver and adipose tissue, and inflammatory cells in the installation of hypermetabolism and its complications.

Figure 1: Hypermetabolic response to burn injury. Burn injury results in a number of pathological alterations in various tissues of the body. Alterations in the metabolic tissues of liver, adipose and skeletal muscle are illustrated post-burn injury.

Figure 2: Browning of white adipose tissue in response to burn injury. The browning of subcutaneous white adipose tissue observed in burn patients and its adverse metabolic effects are illustrated.