SUMMARY
The research of Hawley E. Kunz, Ph.D., focuses on the effects of aging, obesity, and exercise on adipose tissue and skeletal muscle physiology. She is specifically interested in investigating the role of the immune cells residing within these tissues.
Both skeletal muscle and adipose tissue contain diverse populations of immune cells. Tissue-immune cell interactions are crucial for the health and function of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. These interactions play an important role in tissue responses and adaptations to exercise.
Dr. Kunz uses a variety of approaches, including human cross-sectional and intervention studies, to investigate how aging, obesity and exercise affect these tissue-immune interactions. Dr. Kunz strives to understand the implications of these interactions for health and disease.
Focus areas
Exercise and adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is an important contributor to overall metabolic health. In addition to serving as a central site of lipid storage, adipose tissue acts as an endocrine organ, secreting proteins that send signals throughout the body.
Exercise training has been shown to improve adipose tissue biology. Dr. Kunz studies how physical activity affects adipose tissue, including how it alters the populations of immune cells within the tissue. Dr. Kunz studies how exercise affects the endocrine signals received from adipose tissue.
This research yields important insights into how alterations in adipose tissue cellular composition and endocrine signaling may contribute to the body's beneficial adaptations to exercise. It also generates new mechanistic insights into the role of adipose tissue in metabolic health.
Tissue-Specific Inflammation. Aging, obesity and numerous disease states are associated with chronic, low-grade, whole-body inflammation. This inflammation is associated with many health risks, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic disease and type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Kunz studies how inflammation within adipose tissue and skeletal muscle affects the function and health of these tissues. This research identifies targeted therapeutic strategies for reducing the effects of inflammation and improving tissue health.
- Adaptive responses to exercise. In collaboration with Dr. Ian Lanza and as part of his Muscle Physiology and Metabolism Laboratory, Dr. Kunz studies factors that impair beneficial adaptations to exercise. While physical activity is a known therapeutic strategy for improving health outcomes, individual responses to a workout vary considerably. Dr. Lanza and Dr. Kunz are interested in identifying factors that may contribute to blunted exercise responses in some individuals and in exploring ways to enhance the beneficial effects of physical activity.
Significance to patient care
Advanced age and obesity increase the risk for many diseases and for all-cause mortality. Adipose tissue and skeletal muscle play vital roles in metabolic health, energy storage and physical function. Aging and obesity are associated with profound changes in both these tissues. The extreme changes in these tissues, which include reduced muscle mass and function, increased adiposity, and altered cellular composition, likely contribute to the increased disease risk in aging and obesity. Dr. Kunz seeks to identify the drivers of these tissue changes, with the ultimate goal of identifying targeted therapeutics for improving health. These tissue alterations may explain the foundational mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of physical activity.