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Heather  Caslin

Heather Caslin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Office Number: 104P GAR
Phone: 713.743.9840
Fax: 713.743.9860

Email: hcaslin@Central.UH.EDU

Mailing Address:
3875 Holman St., Rm 104 Garrison
Houston, TX 77204-6015

Website: https://grants.hhp.uh.edu/lip

Download Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

My academic training and research expertise intersect the fields of immunology, metabolism, and exercise physiology. Broadly, I am interested in how immune cells affect systemic metabolism and how cell bioenergetics affect immune cell function. Specifically, I am interested in how diet and exercise affect innate immune cells in health and disease.

Recent Publications and Research Activity

Caslin H.L, Cottam M.A., Piñon J.M.†, Boney L.Y. †, Hasty, A.H. Weight cycling induces innate immune memory in adipose tissue macrophages. Frontiers in Immunology. 2023 Jan 11; 13. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.984859.

Winn N.C. *, Cottam M.A.*, Bhanot M., Caslin H.L., Garcia J.N., Arrojo E Drigo R, Hasty A.H. Weight cycling impairs pancreatic insulin secretion but does not perturb whole-body insulin action in diet-induced obese mice. Diabetes. 2022 Jul 8;db220161. doi: 10.2337/db22-0161.

Cottam M.A.*, Caslin H.L*, Winn N.C., Hasty A.H. Multiomics reveals persistence of obesity-associated immune cell phenotypes during weight loss and subsequent weight regain. Nature Communications. 2022 May 26;13(1):2950. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30646-4.

Caslin H.L, Abebayehu D., Pinette J.A., Ryan J.J. Not solely a metabolic by-product, lactate shapes immune cell fate and function. Frontiers in Physiology. 2021 Oct; 12. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.688485.

Caslin H.L*, Bhanot M.*, Bolus W.R., Hasty A.H. Adipose tissue macrophages: unique polarization and bioenergetics in obesity. Immunological Reviews. 2020; 00:1-13. doi: 10.1111/imr.12853.

Caslin H.L and Hasty A.H. Extrinsic and Intrinsic Immunometabolism Converge: Perspectives on Future Research and Therapeutic Development for Obesity. Current Obesity Reports. 2019 Sep;8(3):210-219. doi: 10.1007/s13679-019-00344-2. Review.

Caslin H.L., Abebayehu D., Abdul Qayum A., Paez P.A., Hoeferlin L.A., Chalfant C.E., Ryan JJ. Lactic acid limits glycolysis and ATP availability effectively reducing LPS-induced cytokine production in mast cells and in vivo. Journal of Immunology. 2019 Jul 15;203(2):453-464. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1801005.

Abebayehu D., Spence A.J., Caslin H.L., Taruselli M.T., Kolawole E.M., Chumanevich A.P., Sell S., Oskeritzian C.A., Ryan J.J. Lactic acid suppresses IgE-mediated mast cell function in vitro and in vivo. Cellular Immunology. 2019 Jul;341:103918. doi: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2019.04.006. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Caslin H.L., Taruselli M.T., Haque T.T., Pondicherry N., Baldwin E.A., Barnstein B.O., Ryan J.J. Inhibiting glycolysis and ATP production attenuates IL-33-mediated cytokine production in mast cells and IL-33-induced peritonitis. Frontiers in Immunology. 2018; 9. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.03026

Caslin H.L., Kiwanuka K.N., Haque T.T., Taruselli M.T., MacKnight H.P., Paranjape A., Ryan J.J. Controlling Mast Cell Activation and Homeostasis: Work Influenced by Bill Paul that Continues Today. Frontiers in Immunology. 2018 Apr; 9: 868. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.00868

Abebayehu D., Spence A.J., Abdul Qayum A. Taruselli M., McLeod J., Caslin H.L., Kolawole E., Ndaw V., Barnstein B.O., Oskertizian C.A., Ryan J.J. Lactic acid suppresses IL-33-mediated mast cell inflammatory responses via HIF-1 dependent miR-155 suppression. Journal of Immunology. 2016; 197(7):2909-17. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600651

Education

B.S. in Exercise Science at Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012

M.S. in Health and Movement Science at Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014

Ph.D in Integrative Life Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018

Postdoctoral Training in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University, 2023