Sue Tsai

Area of Study / Keywords

Type 1 Diabetes Insulin Resistance Adaptive Immunity Immunometabolism Mechanoimmunology

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About

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, where my team and I lead a dynamic research program at the intersection of immunology and metabolic diseases, including type 1 diabetes and insulin resistance.

One core focus of our work is investigating how maternal health influences offspring resilience to immune-mediated diseases. In another major pillar, we explore how metabolic dysregulation impacts protective immunity in settings such as vaccination, infection, and cancer.

Together, these efforts aim to deepen our understanding of immune-metabolic interactions and uncover novel strategies to promote health across the lifespan.

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Research

Metabolic dysregulation is a growing global health concern, contributing to insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and increased risk for type 2 diabetes. It is also linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and a wide range of immune-mediated disorders.

Our research examines two fundamental and interrelated questions at the intersection of metabolism and immunity:

• How do metabolic disturbances impact immune function?

• How can we recalibrate a dysregulated immune response to enhance protective immunity?

We explore these questions in contexts where effective immune responses are critical—during infection, cancer, and autoimmune disease. Using preclinical models that reflect various forms of metabolic imbalance, we investigate how altered nutrient and hormonal environments shape immune function, and how these changes contribute to disease susceptibility.

Immune cells rely on metabolic pathways not only for energy but also to support their development, differentiation, and function. Modulating immune metabolism offers a promising strategy to tune immune responses across a broad spectrum of health and disease.

Sarah Q. Crome, Sue Tsai

Nature Metabolism. 2025 April; 10.1038/s42255-025-01257-2

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Alejandro Schcolnik-Cabrera, Megan Lee, Kasia Dzierlega, Paulo Basso, Erin Strachan, Mengyi Zhu, Masoud Akbari, Xavier Clemente-Casares, Sue Tsai

2024 July; 10.1101/2024.07.16.603813

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Jenneffer Rayane Braga Tibaes, Maria Ines Barreto Silva, Bethany Wollin, Donna Vine, Sue Tsai, Caroline Richard

Obesity Reviews. 2024 March; 10.1111/obr.13665

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Eliana Lucchinetti, Phing-How Lou, Gregory Holtzhauer, Nazek Noureddine, Paulina Wawrzyniak, Ivan Hartling, Megan Lee, Erin Strachan, Xavier Clemente-Casares, Sue Tsai, Gerhard Rogler, Stefanie D Krämer, Martin Hersberger, Michael Zaugg

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2022 December; 10.1093/ajcn/nqac272

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Megan Lee, Kevin Chu, Mainak Chakraborty, Nicholas Kotoulas, Masoud Akbari, Cynthia Goh, Xavier Clemente-Casares, Daniel A. Winer, Annie Shrestha, Sue Tsai

STAR Protocols. 2022 June; 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101233

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Jenneffer Rayane Braga Tibaes, Jessy Azarcoya-Barrera, Bethany Wollin, Hellen Veida-Silva, Alexander Makarowski, Donna Vine, Sue Tsai, René Jacobs, Caroline Richard

The Journal of Nutrition. 2022 May; 10.1093/jn/nxac024

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Cell Reports. 2021 January; 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108609

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Cell Metabolism. 2019 January; 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.11.007

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International Journal of Obesity. 2019 January; 10.1038/s41366-019-0340-1

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Cell Metabolism. 2019 January; 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.03.002

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Nature Communications. 2019 January; 10.1038/s41467-019-11370-y

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Cell Metabolism. 2018 January; 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.003

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Science Immunology. 2017 January; 10.1126/sciimmunol.aai7616

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Nature. 2016 January; 10.1038/nature16962

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Cell Reports. 2016 January; 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.06.024

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Endocrinology. 2016 January; 10.1210/en.2015-1549

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Cell Metabolism. 2016 January; 10.1016/j.cmet.2016.01.003

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Diabetes. 2015 January; 10.2337/db14-1488

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ACS Nano. 2015 January; 10.1021/nn5062029

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Diabetes. 2015 January; 10.2337/db13-1524

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Cell Metabolism. 2015 January; 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.03.001

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Nature Medicine. 2014 January; 10.1038/nm.3527

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Journal of Immunology. 2013 January; 10.4049/jimmunol.1300168

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European Journal of Immunology. 2013 January; 10.1002/eji.201242845

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Diabetes. 2013 January; 10.2337/db12-0600

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Frontiers in Immunology. 2013 January; 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00321

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Immunology and Cell Biology. 2013 January; 10.1038/icb.2013.9

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2013 January; 10.1073/pnas.1211391110

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Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine. 2012 January; 10.1101/cshperspect.a007773

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Journal of Immunology. 2012 January; 10.4049/jimmunol.1201787

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Journal of Virology. 2012 January; 10.1128/JVI.06349-11

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Journal of Molecular Medicine. 2011 January; 10.1007/s00109-011-0757-z

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Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 2011 January; 10.1007/s00018-011-0738-y

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2010 January; 10.1073/pnas.0913835107

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Journal of Immunology. 2010 January; 10.4049/jimmunol.1001306

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Immunity. 2010 January; 10.1016/j.immuni.2010.03.015

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Inmunologia. 2008 January; 10.1016/S0213-9626(08)70045-3

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Advances in Immunology. 2008 January; 10.1016/S0065-2776(08)00804-3

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Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 2008 January; 10.1002/mrm.21494

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Journal of Immunology. 2008 January; 10.4049/jimmunol.181.1.243

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Endocrinology. 2007 January; 10.1210/en.2007-0358

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Cell. 2006 January; 10.1016/j.cell.2006.10.038

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