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My group is interested in identifying why obese individuals are at greater risk of liver injury in the setting of trauma or surgery. My long-term goal is to understand the relationship between metabolic and immunologic processes in the liver. One potential link between these underlying mechanisms could be the peptide leptin, which can profoundly modify inflammatory and metabolic pathways. The goal of this research effort is to improve understanding of the impact of leptin on acute inflammatory cascade and metabolic response during hepatic ischemia-reperfusion. This will benefit patients by improving risk-stratification of candidates for hepatic surgery and possibly lead to preventive therapies for ischemia-reperfusion injury.