Our lab uses an integrative, translational approach to understand the mechanisms by which obesity promotes postmenopausal breast cancers. We’re interested in understanding how the obese microenvironment, when combined with the metabolic and hormonal changes associated with menopause, promote tumor development, survival, and growth. In parallel, we also study the role of adipose tissue inflammation in the development of metabolic disease after menopause. We hope that the knowledge gained from studying the ‘normal’ adipose and breast environments during menopause will also help us understand the changes that occur to create a tumor-promoting environment in the breast of obese women during this same window of time.