The Jiang Lab studies how adipose tissue regulates whole-body energy balance and metabolic health. Although fat tissue is often viewed as a site of energy storage, it is also a dynamic endocrine and metabolic organ that communicates with the immune system, nervous system, vasculature, and other tissues. The long-term vision of the Jiang Lab is to understand how metabolically active tissues can be preserved, regenerated, or restored in disease. By defining how adipose progenitor cells, muscle stem cells, hormonal cues, immune signals, and gut-derived factors regulate tissue function, we aim to uncover new therapeutic concepts for obesity, diabetes, frailty, and age-related metabolic dysfunction

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1. Development and Renewal of Thermogenic Fat

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We investigate how brown and beige adipocytes are generated during development, adulthood, and metabolic adaptation. A central focus is to identify the adipose progenitor cells that give rise to thermogenic adipocytes and to understand how these progenitors are activated, maintained, or restrained under different physiological conditions. This work addresses how thermogenic fat depots are established, how they remodel in response to cold exposure or nutrient excess, and how new thermogenic adipocytes are generated during tissue turnover. These studies provide a framework for understanding how adipose tissue preserves its energy-burning capacity over time.

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2. Aging, Obesity, and Stem Cell Dysfunction

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Aging and obesity are associated with reduced tissue plasticity, impaired repair capacity, and increased risk of metabolic disease. We study how these conditions alter adult stem and progenitor cells in metabolically important tissues. In adipose tissue, we examine why progenitor cells lose their ability to generate new beige fat cells during aging and obesity. We are also interested in how similar age- and obesity-associated stressors affect muscle stem cells, which are required for skeletal muscle repair and maintenance. This direction aims to understand how stem cell dysfunction contributes to metabolic decline, reduced tissue regeneration, and loss of healthy tissue function with age.

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3. Hormonal and Sex-Specific Regulation of Metabolic Tissues

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Sex hormones have broad effects on energy balance, but their direct roles within metabolic tissues remain incompletely understood. We investigate how hormonal signals regulate both mature thermogenic adipocytes and the progenitor cells that support adipose tissue renewal. This direction is particularly relevant to understanding sex differences in metabolic health and the increased metabolic risk that accompanies aging. By defining how hormonal signals preserve fat and muscle tissue function, we aim to better understand how metabolic health is maintained in males and females across the lifespan.

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4. Tissue Crosstalk in Metabolic Remodeling

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Adipose tissue function is shaped by extensive communication among adipocytes, progenitor cells, immune cells, lymph nodes, vascular cells, and signals from other organs, including the gut, brain, heart, liver, and skeletal muscle. We study how this cellular and tissue-level crosstalk determines whether metabolic tissues remain healthy or become dysfunctional. Our lab is especially interested in how immune cells and local tissue niches regulate beige fat formation. We also investigate how gut microbiome-derived metabolites influence adipose tissue through immune and metabolic signaling. More broadly, we aim to understand how communication between fat and other organs contributes to energy balance, tissue repair, and metabolic health.