Anna Krook

I propose studying how different tissues communicate to gain insights into overall metabolism and insulin sensitivity regulation. The research aims to explore altered inter-tissue communication’s role in metabolic disease development. Using samples from people with normal glucose levels or type 2 diabetes, we will analyze extracellular vesicles for metabolites and lipids involved in communication. We’ll consider both freely circulating factors and those carried in vesicles, such as miRNAs. Current large-scale omic analysis offers abundant data, but the challenge is moving beyond associations to understand mechanisms.

This research program seeks to fill this gap by using tissue culture and animal models to mechanistically study potential regulators of metabolism identified in our analysis. Emphasizing mechanistic validation of targets holds promise for uncovering new biology and pathways relevant to clinical intervention in type 2 diabetes.