Matthew Cottam
Graduate Student, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Research Description
My project is focused on immune cell function in models of metabolic disease. I am specifically interested in traits that immune cells acquire during diet induced obesity and how many of these features persist through weight loss. The overarching hypothesis is that persistent features are signs of immune dysfunction and herald likelihood of weight regain and worsened metabolic disease. To investigate the complex interactions between immune cells and parenchymal cells, I use a variety of in vivo, molecular, and bioinformatics approaches, such as mouse models of obesity, antibody immunotherapy, flow cytometry, microscopy, and single cell sequencing.