Heejin Jun, Ph.D.

Research Focus

Our research would contribute to finding new therapeutic interventions for obesity and associated diseases, including type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Obesity develops when energy intake chronically exceeds energy expenditure. Adipose tissues respond dynamically to energy needs by storing or burning excess energy, thereby fulfilling its significant role in whole-body energy homeostasis. Our research focuses on understanding molecular mechanisms and their physiological roles in the development and regulation of thermogenic fat, which dissipates energy and improves metabolic health. We are interested in: (1) Identifying key molecular controls underlying plasticity of thermogenic fat for metabolic adaptation depending on the nature of physiological conditions.  (2) Understanding aberrant processes that determine identity and function of thermogenic fat in diseases involving metabolic complications. (3) Exploring the therapeutic potential of thermogenic fat as an upstream governor of multiple organs involved in systemic energy homeostasis.  (4) Exploring nutritional approaches that recruit thermogenic fat to improve metabolic health.  We apply interdisciplinary approaches integrating molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, multi-omics and physiology to understand the complexity of thermogenic fat development, regulation and function in systemic energy homeostasis at cell, tissue and organism levels. Please email me with your CV if you wish to join our research effort as a student interested in this field.

Research Areas of Expertise

Obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, thermogenic fat, energy metabolism, nutrient metabolism

Selected Publications

1. Jun, H.*,^#, Liu S.*, Knights, A.J., Zhu, K., Ma, Y., Gong, J., Lenhart, A.E., Peng, X., Huang, Y., Ginder, J.P., Downie, C.H., Ramos, E.T., Kullander, K., Kennedy, R.T., Xu, X.Z.S., Wu, J#. Signaling through the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in the liver protects against the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. PLOS Biology 22(7):e3002728 (2024). *First author, #Corresponding author.
2. Rahman, M.S., Jun, H. The adipose tissue macrophages central to adaptive thermoregulation. Frontiers in Immunology 13:884126 (2022).
3. Knights, A.J.*,^#, Liu, S.*, Perkey, E., Ma, Y., Sorensen, M., Kennedy, R.T., Maillard, I., Jun, H.*,^#, Wu, J^#. Acetylcholine-synthesizing macrophages in subcutaneous fat are regulated by β2-adrenergic signaling. The EMBO Journal (2021) 40: e106061. Selected as a cover story. *First author, ^#Corresponding author.
4.  Zhang, B., Jun, H., Wu, J., Liu, J., Xu, X.Z.S. Perception of food abundance regulates longevity via an olfactory circuit and norepinephrine signaling. Nature Aging 1:255-268 (2021).
5. Jun, H.*, Ma, Y.*, Chen, Y., Gong, J., Knights, A.J., Qiao, X, Emont, M.P., Shawn, Xu X.Z.S., Kajimura, S., Wu, J. Adrenergic-independent signaling via CHRNA2 regulates beige fat activation. Developmental Cell 54(1):106-116 (2020). *First author.
6. Qiao, X.*, Kim, D.*, Jun, H.*, Ma, Y., Knights, A.J., Park, M.J., Zhu, K., Lipinski, J.H., Liao, J., Li, Y., Richard, S., Weinman, S.A., Wu, J. Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 interacts with PGC1a and modulates thermogenic fat activation. Endocrinology 160(12):2773-2786 (2019). *First author.
7. Tajima, K., Ikeda, K., Chang, H., Yoneshiro, T., Jun, H., Wu, J., Ishihama, Y., Kajimura, S. Mitochondrial lipoylation integrates age-associated decline in adipose tissue thermogenesis. Nature Metabolism 1:886-898 (2019).
8. Jun, H., Yu, H., Gong, J., Jiang, J., Qiao, X., Perkey, E., Kim, D.I., Emont, M.P., Zestos, A.G., Cho, J.S., Liu, J., Kennedy, R.T., Maillard, I., Xu, X.Z.S., Wu, J. An immune-beige adipocyte communication via nicotinic acetylcholine receptor signaling. Nature Medicine 24(6):814-822 (2018). Highlighted in Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2018. 
9. Jun, H., Joshi, Y., Patil, Y., Noland, R.C., Chang, J.S., NT-PGC-1α activation attenuates high-fat diet-induced obesity by enhancing brown fat thermogenesis and adipose tissue oxidative metabolism. Diabetes 63(11):3615-3625 (2014).
10. Jun, H., Lee, J.H., Kim, J., Jia, Y., Kim, K.H., Hwang, K.Y., Yun, E.J., Do, K.R., Lee, S.J., Linalool is a PPARA ligand that reduces plasma TG levels and rewires the hepatic transcriptome and plasma metabolome. Journal of Lipid Research 55(6):1098-1110 (2014).