Welcome to Dr. Mitch Lazar's lab website. Our laboratory studies the mechanisms by which nuclear receptors link gene transcription mechanisms to metabolism. The study of thyroid hormone receptors and Rev-erbα have led to a series of discoveries related to the mechanism of nuclear receptor-mediated repression. These include the regulation of Rev-erbα by a novel ligand, heme, and by lithium, the composition of core nuclear receptor corepressor-histone deacetylase complexes, the CoRNR motif by which nuclear receptors interact with corepressors, and the activation of histone deacetylase function by corepressor binding. The lab is also studying PPARγ, the target of insulin-sensitizing diabetes drugs, and the master regulator of adipocyte differentiation. The intergrative biology of these receptors, their coregulators, and their epigenomic effects are being studied using genome-wide methodologies to interrogate the effects of diet, obesity, and circadian rhythm. We also study resistin, which we discovered as a novel adipocyte-specific hormone that impairs insulin action in rodents. We are currently determining the metabolic and inflammatory phenotypes of mouse models with humanized resistin expression and function.