Summary
I joined Imperial College London as a MRC Skills Development Fellow in 2018. My current research is focused on exploring the causal role of gut microbiome in cardiometabolic disease development using multi-omics, systems biology, and genetic epidemiology approaches like Mendelian randomization in population settings.
Prior to joining Imperial College, I held the prestigious Banting Fellowship from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Fonds de Recherche Sante Quebec at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Canada, where I characterized the thermogenic or “fat-burning” potential of human epicardial adipose tissue in relation to cardiometabolic disease development in experimental settings using animal models and in-vitro approaches.
For my PhD, I investigated the role of maternal dietary fat intake during pregnancy on the lipid metabolism and vascular function in adulthood using animal models.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Chechi K, Vijay J, Voisine P, et al., 2019, UCP1 expression-associated gene signatures of human epicardial adipose tissue, Jci Insight, Vol:4
Chechi K, Lichtenbelt WVM, Richard D, 2018, Brown and beige adipose tissues: phenotype and metabolic potential in mice and men, Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol:124, ISSN:8750-7587, Pages:482-496
Chechi K, Voisine P, Mathieu P, et al., 2017, Functional characterization of the Ucp1-associated oxidative phenotype of human epicardial adipose tissue, Scientific Reports, Vol:7, ISSN:2045-2322
Labbe SM, Caron A, Chechi K, et al., 2016, Metabolic activity of brown, "beige," and white adipose tissues in response to chronic adrenergic stimulation in male mice, American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol:311, ISSN:0193-1849, Pages:E260-E268
Chechi K, Richard D, 2015, Thermogenic potential and physiological relevance of human epicardial adipose tissue., Int J Obes Suppl, Vol:5, ISSN:2046-2166, Pages:S28-S34
Chechi K, Nedergaard J, Richard D, 2014, Brown adipose tissue as an anti-obesity tissue in humans, Obesity Reviews, Vol:15, ISSN:1467-7881, Pages:92-106
Chechi K, Blanchard P-G, Mathieu P, et al., 2013, Brown fat like gene expression in the epicardial fat depot correlates with circulating HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides in patients with coronary artery disease, International Journal of Cardiology, Vol:167, ISSN:0167-5273, Pages:2264-2270
Chechi K, Carpentier AC, Richard D, 2013, Understanding the brown adipocyte as a contributor to energy homeostasis, Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol:24, ISSN:1043-2760, Pages:408-420
Chechi K, Gelinas Y, Mathieu P, et al., 2012, Validation of Reference Genes for the Relative Quantification of Gene Expression in Human Epicardial Adipose Tissue, PLOS One, Vol:7, ISSN:1932-6203
Richard D, Monge-Roffarello B, Chechi K, et al., 2012, Control and physiological determinants of sympathetically mediated brown adipose tissue thermogenesis., Front Endocrinol (lausanne), Vol:3
Chechi K, Yasui N, Ikeda K, et al., 2010, Flax oil-mediated activation of PPAR-gamma correlates with reduction of hepatic lipid accumulation in obese spontaneously hypertensive/NDmcr-cp rats, a model of the metabolic syndrome, British Journal of Nutrition, Vol:104, ISSN:0007-1145, Pages:1313-1321
Chechi K, Herzberg GR, Cheema SK, 2010, Maternal dietary fat intake during gestation and lactation alters tissue fatty acid composition in the adult offspring of C57Bl/6 mice, Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, Vol:83, ISSN:0952-3278, Pages:97-104
Chechi K, McGuire JJ, Cheema SK, 2009, Developmental programming of lipid metabolism and aortic vascular function in C57BL/6 mice: a novel study suggesting an involvement of LDL-receptor. (vol 296, pg R1029, 2009), American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol:297, ISSN:0363-6119, Pages:R911-R911
Chechi K, McGuire JJ, Cheema SK, 2009, Developmental programming of lipid metabolism and aortic vascular function in C57BL/6 mice: a novel study suggesting an involvement of LDL-receptor, American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol:296, ISSN:0363-6119, Pages:R1029-R1040
Chechi K, Cheema SK, 2006, Maternal diet rich in saturated fats has deleterious effects on plasma lipids of mice., Experimental & Clinical Cardiology, Vol:11, ISSN:1205-6626, Pages:129-135