A functioning lipid metabolism ensures that the body metabolizes excess nutrients and stores them, mostly as lipids, in adipose cells. Lipids are the body’s energy deposits. If the organism needs more energy than it can take in through food, it breaks down the deposits to supply organs and muscle with energy. Disruptions in this lipid metabolism may cause many diseases such as overweight, obesity and diabetes.
A key element of the lipid metabolism is TBLR1, a molecular switch that promotes fat decomposition. In her doctoral thesis, Maria Rohm studied specially bred mice whose fat cells couldn’t produce TBLR1. She discovered that without this molecule the animals developed obesity and diabetes. Furthermore, she studied adipose tissue of individuals with normal body weight and of obese individuals. She found out that it contained less TBLR1 in obese individuals than it does in individuals with normal weight. “This confirms our hypothesis that a lack of TBLR1 leads to obesity in humans, too," says Maria Rohm. “Since obesity increases cancer risk, we plan to investigate how TBLR1 deficiency impacts tumor growth in mice."
The Novartis Young Endocrinologist Award of the German Society of Endocrinology is awarded annually to honor young scientists for their outstanding work in the field of hormone research. The award ceremony took place on March 14, 2013 in Düsseldorf. The career grant of the German Diabetes Association is awarded for excellent doctoral theses in the field of diabetology. It is donated by Sanofi-Aventis Germany and is primarily intended to fund an external research stay. The award will be presented this year on May 9 in Leipzig.