Regulation of energy metabolism

The research of the division of Endocrinology within the department of Internal Medicine is concentrated around the pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of metabolic disease, including regenerative strategies. The research focuses on three themes: 1) regulation of energy metabolism, 2) beta-cell regeneration, and 3) bone and mineral research, all of which are organized in a multidisciplinary way.

The pathogenesis of cardiometabolic disease is still incompletely understood. This theme has two important lines: 1) Prevention and treatment of cardiovascular complications of disturbed energy metabolism as observed in abdominal obesity and type 2 diabetes, with strategies focused on both modulation of energy intake (e.g. very low calorie-mimicking diets, intermittent fasting) and energy expenditure (e.g. activation of brown adipose tissue, modulation of the gut microbiome, and stress circuits). 2) Prevention and treatment of endocrine tumours. Research aims at the dissection of the molecular pathogenesis and the consequences of these disorders, and the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. In addition, these disorders, that are usually accompanied by controlled changes in hormone systems, are also studied as models for endocrine regulation (e.g. effects of hypothyroidism or hypercortisolism on metabolism).