Chronic inflammation plays a central role in many diseases, damaging vital organs and worsening inflammation throughout the body. Medicines based on the gut hormone GLP-1, such as Ozempic, have transformed the treatment of metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes. Growing evidence suggests these medicines benefit a wider range of chronic diseases where inflammation plays a role. These advances have highlighted that gut hormones do much more than regulate metabolism, revealing new connections between hormonal signals and inflammation that could lead to new treatments for chronic disease.

CK’s research investigates how gut hormones regulate inflammation through communication between the gut, brain and immune system.  

“I was first drawn to endocrinology as an undergraduate,” says CK. “I found it remarkable that a single hormone could coordinate the function of distant organs with such precision. That curiosity led me from studying the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreasduring my PhD to GLP-1 during my postdoctoral work, and now to understanding how gut hormones regulate inflammation and how these signals shape immune responses across different tissues.”

His team combines sophisticated animal models with advanced imaging, cytometry, multi-omics approaches and analyses of clinical samples to determine how gut hormones regulate immune responses across the gut-brain-immune axis. 

“By understanding the mechanisms that govern these signals, we hope to identify anti-inflammatory pathways that could inform the development of more precise treatments for chronic diseases driven by metabolic dysfunction and inflammation,” says CK. 

His team also aims to support the rational design of multi-hormone therapies that work together to more effectively target and resolve inflammation. By understanding how these hormones affect the immune system, they hope to define safer therapeutic window, reduce side effects and identify new opportunities to use gut hormones as synergistic boosters for existing immunotherapies. 

CK joins the LMS this month from the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, where he was a Postdoctoral Fellow. CK says, “I was drawn to the LMS because it brings together expertise in basic biology, physiology and clinical research within a highly collaborative environment. Having researchers with different perspectives working side by side creates opportunities to ask better questions and build collaborations that keep our research closely connected to human physiology and disease.” 

Welcome to the LMS, CK!