Dr. Wirth’s research investigates protozoan parasites, which remain major causes of disease in developing countries throughout the world, while little is known about the biology or molecular biology of these organisms. The group’s long term goal is to understand basic molecular mechanisms in protozoan parasites with the aim of discovering and applying parasite-specific interventions.
Dr. Hu’s research has focused on diet/lifestyle, metabolic, and genetic determinants of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This includes the epidemiology and prevention of cardio-metabolic diseases through diet and lifestyle, gene-environment interactions and risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, nutritional metabolomics in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and obesity, metabolic phenotypes, and cardiovascular disease in Chinese populations.
