Prof. Dr. Markus Stoffel
Metabolism & Metabolic Diseases
Integration of extracellular hormonal and nutrient signals into comprehensive gene expression patterns leads to tightly choreographed phenotypic responses that regulate metabolism and cellular differentiation. My overall research interest is to elucidate the fundamental molecular mechanisms that regulate glucose and lipid metabolism through the study of transcriptional and translational regulators that control energy homeostasis in response to physiological (i.e. fasting) and environmental (i.e. caloric excess) stress. Our work focuses on understanding transcriptional and microRNA regulatory networks and their interactions in pancreatic b-cells, liver, fat and hypothalamus. The importance of genetic/genomic regulation in the maintenance of glucose and lipid homeostasis is underscored by the many examples of aberrant signal transduction and transcriptional activation resulting in obesity and type 2 diabetes and the development of secondary complications.