University of California-San Diego · BiologyZuniga Immunometabolism Lab
Elina I Zuniga · La Jolla, California
Research Focus
Dr. Elina Zuniga's lab at UC San Diego focuses on understanding how the metabolism of body fat tissues influences the immune response to persistent viral infections. They investigate how different types of fat cells, particularly white and brown adipose tissues, impact the behavior and function of CD8 T cells, a type of immune cell crucial for controlling viral infections. This innovative research could lead to new treatments for chronic viral diseases by targeting metabolic pathways.
CD8 T cellsviral persistenceadipose tissueimmune regulationmetabolism
Research Aims
4AIM 01Investigate how white adipose tissue regulates CD8 T cell responses during viral infection.
AIM 02Explore the impact of brown adipose tissue on CD8 T cell metabolism and immune response.
AIM 03Characterize the mechanisms behind T cell exhaustion in the context of viral persistence.
AIM 04Identify the nutritional factors that influence immune cell function in chronic infections.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsmetabolomicsflow cytometryimmunotherapy techniques
Output against the department
Publications102bottom 35% of dept.667th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations6.0kbottom 43% of dept.584th 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.