Home Department: Bioengineering
Mentor: Philip Beachy (Urology and Developmental Biology)

“Hedgehog Pathway Activation and its Regulatory Role in Adipose Tissue Fat Metabolism”

Carl’s project will focus on the Hedgehog (HH) pathway and its regulatory rule in adipose tissue, especially brown fat cells, which regulate body temperature. Specifically, he will use mice models to investigate the rule of HH pathway overactivation and its effect on adipose tissue. He will induce the HH pathway using Tamoxifen and measure the change in mice body weight, insulin sensitivity, and adipose tissue size. He will work on understanding the mechanism of action of the HH pathway in fat metabolism and ultimately identify a novel druggable pathway in treating diabetes and obesity.