Understanding the role of nutrition and energy metabolism in lifespan and diseaseThe overall goal of the Kapahi laboratory is to understand how an organism responds to nutrient status to influence health and disease. We utilize worms, flies and mice as model systems to understand how nutrients influence age-related changes in physiology and disease processes. Using interdisciplinary approaches we are examining the mechanisms by which various organs and the microbiome communicate with each other to influence various physiological processes. We study how various physiological and molecular processes including physical activity, fat metabolism, circadian clocks, advanced glycation end products, calcification and intestinal permeability are influenced by nutrients to impact organismal health and survival. Our work has relevance to a number of age-related human diseases including diabetes, kidney stone formation, intestinal diseases, cancer and obesity. Some of the projects currently being pursued in the lab are described below.