Washington University in St Louis · BiologyBrestoff Metabolism Lab
Jonathan R Brestoff · Saint Louis, Missouri
Research Focus
Dr. Jonathan R. Brestoff's lab at Washington University focuses on understanding how immune cells, especially neutrophils, regulate brown adipose tissue (BAT) function and thermogenesis, potentially influencing metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, his research explores intercellular mitochondria transfer as a novel therapeutic approach for treating Leigh Syndrome, a serious mitochondrial disease. The lab aims to uncover mechanisms that could lead to new treatments for these conditions.
brown adipose tissuethermogenesisneutrophilsmetabolic diseasesLeigh Syndromemitochondrial transferobesitytype 2 diabetes
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how neutrophils regulate brown adipose tissue metabolism and thermogenesis.
AIM 02Identify novel pathways that involve neutrophils in the context of metabolic diseases.
AIM 03Explore the therapeutic potential of intercellular mitochondria transfer for Leigh Syndrome.
AIM 04Determine the effects of administering healthy mitochondria on outcomes in Leigh Syndrome models.
AIM 05Evaluate how bone marrow transplantation can provide a source of healthy mitochondria.
Skills the Lab Values
cell cultureanimal modelsmolecular biology techniquesimmunohistochemistryWestern blot analysisflow cytometrygenetic manipulationbioinformaticsmetabolic assays
Output against the department
Publications124bottom 45% of dept.568th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations7.6ktop 49% of dept.503rd 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.