Dr. Tanya Alderete is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado and heads the Alderete Diabetes and Obesity (ADOR) Laboratory. She has expertise in the pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes, environmental epidemiology, and the human microbiome. Her work has focused on ectopic fat, obesity-associated inflammation, and glucose and insulin metabolism in overweight and obese Hispanics and African Americans. Her recent work includes some of the first studies to demonstrate that increased ambient air pollution exposure is associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes among minority youth. Her research has also identified novel associations between exposure to air pollutants and the gut microbial community structure.