University of California-Los Angeles · BiologyTontonoz Lab
Peter J Tontonoz · Los Angeles, California
Research Focus
Dr. Peter J. Tontonoz's lab at UCLA focuses on how fat cells store and use lipids, which is important for understanding obesity and diabetes. They investigate the role of cholesterol in blood vessel inflammation and how nutrients are absorbed in the gut. Their research aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind these processes, potentially leading to new treatments for metabolic diseases.
lipid metabolismcholesterol transportobesityvascular inflammationdietary nutrient absorptionadipocyte functionimmune signalingmetabolic disease
Research Aims
5AIM 01Identify the mechanisms by which Clstn3 regulates lipid droplet structure and function.
AIM 02Investigate how membrane cholesterol affects inflammatory signaling in vascular cells.
AIM 03Define the role of IL-22 in dietary lipid absorption and systemic metabolism.
AIM 04Explore the connections between lipid metabolism in immune cells and energy balance.
AIM 05Uncover the molecular pathways that govern cholesterol transport in cells.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemolecular cloningWestern blotimmunohistochemistryanimal modelsRNA sequencingCRISPRflow cytometrylumen assessment
Output against the department
Publications362top 14% of dept.143rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations58ktop 4% of dept.37th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.