Research team Osto

PI: Elena Osto

Focus: Our main area of research is vascular-metabolic biology with a special focus on endothelial metabolism and function in immuno-inflammatory and metabolic disarrangements like obesity, diabetes and aging. Further, we study the vascular interaction of lipoproteins and of HDL. 
Our goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the communication between the cardiovascular system, the gut-liver, and the adipose tissue in the pathophysiology of diabetes type 2 and obesity. In this context, a special interest is on the role of gut hormones like glucagon-like peptide-1 and bile acids, and their contributions in maintaining cardiovascular health.
In addition, the group investigates the pathophysiology and sex differences of coronary microvascular dysfunction arising in the context of immune-metabolic disorders (for examples obesity or endocrinology disease like primary hyperparathyroidism, psoriasis, and the cardiac allograft vasculopathy). We use non-invasive cardiovascular imaging techniques to investigate coronary and systemic microvascular dysfunction.