Associate Professor Dr. Udai Singh and Graduate Students Receive the 2024 AAI Laboratory Travel Grant to Present Research at AAI Annual Meeting

Associate Professor Dr. Udai Singh from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences has been awarded the 2024 American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Laboratory Travel Grant. The grant will support Dr. Singh and his team’s attendance at the AAI Annual Meeting, IMMUNOLOGY2024TM in Chicago, IL, from May 3-7, 2024.

At the AAI Annual Meeting, Dr. Singh and his graduate students will present their research on various topics.

Dr. Mousumi Mandal, a postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Singh’s research group, is researching microRNA (miR) based intervention for adipogenesis and adipose tissue inflammation in diet-induced obesity. Dr. Mousumi will present data on how miR-10a treatment impedes metabolic parameters associated with adipogenesis and obesity-related chronic inflammation. Her study suggests that miR-10a treatment reduces blood glucose, various fat depots, adipocyte size, and infiltration of macrophage and dendritic cells in adipose tissue. Concurrently, this miR-10a intervention elevates the migration of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and Th17E cells. Her work may contribute to a new dimension of obesity therapeutics.

Mr. Ahmed Rakib, a graduate student of Dr. Singh, is investigating the mechanism associated with obesity-related adipose tissue inflammation. His research is focused on how sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin E (Siglec-E) mediates adipose tissue inflammation during obesity. Rakib’s research showed increased infiltration of macrophages in adipose tissue after the deletion of Siglec-E. His work is also corroborated by increased inflammatory markers in the adipose tissue during obesity-related adipose tissue inflammation. His research will pave the way for a new understanding of the field of obesity.