The worldwide prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other life style-related diseases has massively increased during the last 40 years. These are complex multifactorial diseases and research in genetic, physiological and metabolic aspects of these disorders is necessary for the development of improved prevention and treatment of the comorbidities.   

In the Functional Genomics & Metabolism Research Unit we are interested in understanding how specific cell types regulate the expression of their genes and how this affects the development and functions of the cells and tissues. Thus, our research aims at better understanding how genes regulate human physiology and diseases like obesity, fatty liver diseases, cancer, and diabetes.

In our research unit, we use advanced next-generation DNA sequencing to study gene regulation across whole organs and individual single cells using animal models and human biopsies. We integrate this with cell culture experiments, where conditions can be tightly controlled. We also apply advanced microscopy techniques and gene-editing to understand how organisms, tissues and cells respond to a variety of signals.     

Our research aims to:

• Understand the molecular networks that regulate gene expression and function of stem cells, fat cells and the insulin-producing cells in pancreas, and how these networks influence the development of obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (Mandrup group)
  
  
• Understand how metabolism and the surrounding environment (e.g. day/night cycles and feeding) affect genome organization and gene expression in the liver (Grøntved group)
  
  
• Understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the development of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis as well as their resolution (Ravnskjaer group)
  
  
• Investigate non-protein coding RNAs, a new class of gene-regulatory molecules with elusive functions in metabolism. We focus on understanding noncoding RNAs in liver and adipose tissue during development of obesity and type 2 diabetes (Kornfeld group)
  
  
• Understand the regulation of genes that control progression of breast cancer and how this regulation is affected by signals from other cells types in the body e.g. in the case of obesity (Siersbæk group)
  
  
• Understand molecular mechanisms that safeguard the integrity of the human genome during DNA replication and cell cycle, and how they communicate with cellular metabolism and external environment to prevent disease-causing mutations, using quantitative single-cell light microscopy, genetics, and biochemistry (Somyajit group)
  
  
• Understand transcriptional mechanisms of macrophage plasticity in metabolic health and disease and investigate how macrophage plasticity contribute to metabolic disease progression (Schmidt group)

• Understand the molecular and transcriptional mechanisms of how adipose tissue influences the development and progression of obesity-related complications, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (Loft group)
  
  
• Create both the computational methods and the molecular reference map of adipose tissue and islets of Langerhans required to understand transcriptional dysregulation in metabolic disease (Madsen group)

Research centres

Our research unit houses two research centers: Center for Functional Genomics and Tissue Plasticity (ATLAS), and Center for Adipocyte Signaling (ADIPOSIGN). Both centers are headed by Prof. Susanne Mandrup and include several partners from our research unit. 

ATLAS 

In ATLAS we use advanced transgenic animal models and human biopsies to investigate how different cell types in fat tissue and liver are affected by obesity and bariatric surgery-induced weight loss. We investigate how changes in the specific cell types affect other cell types as well as tissue function. This provides a unique insight into the obesity-induced changes in fat tissue and liver and creates a basis for better diagnosis and treatment of e.g. fatty liver. 

ADIPOSIGN

In ADIPOSIGN we study how the molecular signals that control the function of fat cells (adipocytes) is changed when obesity develops. We investigate how these signals differ depending on fat depots, gender, and genetic makeup. Our research uncovers how these individual variations contribute to the development and consequences of obesity in the population.