
Aashna S. 2025 | BASIS Independent Fremont
- Project Title: A Mechanistic Investigation of the Enzyme ADAR1’s Role in Mouse Brown and White Fat Cells
- BASIS Independent Advisor: Dr. Sharma
At the UCSF Wang Lab, I will be working with Principal Investigator Dr. Biao Wang, an Associate Professor of the Department of Physiology. My research project is to mechanistically understand the RNA-editing enzyme ADAR1, which regulates the inflammatory pathway interferon-alpha signaling, in mouse brown and white fat cells through statistical analysis. There is an obesity epidemic in the United States: obesity rates rose from 30.5 percent in 1999-2002 to 41.9 percent in 2017-March 2020, while severe obesity rates almost doubled, from 4.7 percent to 9.2 percent. Therefore, we need to better understand obesity’s causative factors, its progression, and how it can be treated. Interestingly, past research suggests tentative links between inflammation and metabolism, motivating further study of how we can utilize these links to develop treatments for metabolic diseases like obesity. For example, the drug hydroxychloroquine, used to treat the autoimmune disease lupus, improves insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients. Additionally, my data analysis research at the Wang Lab this past summer showed that interferon-alpha signaling is enriched in obese individuals. As I work to understand ADAR1 in the context of mouse fat cells by identifying its RNA-editing sites, I hope to shine a light on its complex cellular function and extract insights into its regulatory role in obesity.