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Lab for metabolic diseases

The liver is a highly metabolically active organ that orchestrates the response to nutrient availability during fasting and feeding. Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide. In MASLD, hepatocytes excessively accumulate lipids, reflecting an impaired metabolic profile and response to nutrients. MASLD can progress to Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), where inflammation and fibrosis hamper hepatic functions and increase the risk of cirrhosis and cancer.

Our mission is to gain mechanistic insights into the etiology of MASLD from the liver-intestine-adipose axis perspective and contribute to the identification of novel therapeutic avenues. We focus on the causality between metabolic and epigenetic reprogramming and alterations in nutrient sensing transcription factors. By modulating the metabo-epigenetic lanscape or transcription factors of the nuclear receptor (NR) superfamily, we aim to understand mechanisms that sustain disease states and reduce metabolic fitness. Bachelor or Master students interested in the metabolic regulation of transcription are invited to apply for internships or thesis projects.

Research interests

• modelling of metabolic diseases in organoid and cell systems
• (cross-)regulation of RXR-heterodimerizing NRs FXR, PPAR and TR
• structural determinants of NR function
• development of bio-assays for the analysis of protein modifications

Key methods

• generation and use of gastrointestinal organoids as models of metabolic disease
• (inducible) gene expression systems in cell culture
• analysis of gene expression and genomic/transcriptomic data
• production of recombinant proteins in eukaryotic cells and bacteria
• manipulation of gene expression using CRISPR
• flow cytometry and fluorometric method development
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