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In the News…

UCSD Today – December 11th, 2025

Three UC San Diego Professors Inducted Into the National Academy of Inventors for 2025

Three professors at the University of California San Diego have been elected to the 2025 Class of Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Ping Liu, a professor of chemical and nano engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering; Bernhard Palsson, a professor of bioengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering; and Alan R. Saltiel, a professor of medicine and pharmacology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, are among 185 new Fellows announced by the NAI today.

In the News…

UCSD Today – December 10th, 2025

How the Immune System Stalls Weight Loss

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered a surprising new function for immune cells: preventing excess weight loss. In a recent study, the team demonstrates that when the body is exposed to physiological stressors, such as low temperature, neutrophils — a type of white blood cell — infiltrate fat tissue and release signals that slow fat breakdown. 

In the News…

NIH – February 13, 2024 

Obesity disrupts mitochondria, reduces fat-burning

Scientists identified a protein that triggers changes in mitochondria that lead to reduced fat-burning to promote weight gain in mice fed a high-fat diet.

The findings may point to potential new avenues for treating or preventing obesity in people.

In the News…

UCSD Today – January 29, 2024 

How Obesity Dismantles Our Mitochondria

UC San Diego study reveals key mechanism behind obesity-related metabolic dysfunction

In the News…

Science Daily – February 6, 2020 

Two enzymes control liver damage in NASH

After identifying a molecular pathway that allows nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to progress into liver cell death, researchers were able to use these pathways to halt further liver damage.

In the News…

Eureka Alert – July 5th, 2018 

Repurposed asthma drug shows blood sugar improvement among some diabetics

After 12 weeks of taking an anti-asthma drug, a subset of patients with type 2 diabetes showed a clinically significant reduction in blood glucose during a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of Michigan researchers.

In the News

Science Daily – February 8th 2018

Enzyme plays a key role in calories burned both during obesity and dieting

Ever wonder why obese bodies burn less calories or why dieting often leads to a plateau in weight loss? In both cases the body is trying to defend its weight by regulating energy expenditure. In a new paper, researchers identify the enzyme TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) as a key player in the control of energy expenditure during both obesity and fasting.