Dr. Ji Suk Chang is an Associate Professor in the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. Dr. Chang has a major interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying brown adipose tissue (BAT) metabolism and thermogenesis. Her work has focused on the transcriptional regulation of BAT thermogenesis by NT-PGC-1alpha, a splice variant of PGC-1alpha transcriptional coactivator. Shared and unique functions of PGC-1alpha and NT-PGC-1alpha in the activation of BAT thermogenesis have been elucidated. Her current work focuses on the molecular mechanisms controlling cold-induced glucose uptake and utilization in BAT.