Metabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes, are major risk factors for the development of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, and are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in Western countries.

The research components of this multidisciplinary axis focus on 4 complementary themes, (1) pathophysiology of hypertension, diabetes and obesity, (2) cardio-renal and endocrine disorders, (3) neuronal metabolism and (4) phenome, genome and metabolome.

Hypertension, diabetes and obesity

• Etiology of atherosclerosis, pre-eclampsia and hypertension, environmental and genetic risk factors, hormonal signaling and oxidative stress.
• Function and plasticity (proliferation and cell death) of insulin secreting pancreatic beta cells and metabolic signaling pathways in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.
• Neural circuits and metabolic signals controlling energy balance (body weight and appetite) and carbohydrate homeostasis and their involvement in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
• Adipose tissue development and function, insulin signaling pathways and pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Cardio-renal and endocrine disorders

• Angiogenesis, stem cells and vascular and cardiac remodeling in ischemia.
• Renal function and development of renal failure (nephropathy) during diabetes.
• Growth factors involved in thyroid and adrenal cell proliferation and cancer development.
• Pituitary and somatotropic function in aging

Neuronal metabolism

• Impact of nutrition, macronutrients and obesity on motivated behaviors and mood disorders.
• Metabolic signaling in neuronal cells, neuroinflammation and obesity
• Glia-neuron communication in the central nervous system and energy homeostasis

Phenome, genome and metabolome

• Animal modeling (dietary, transgenic, loss of genetic function) and behavioral, metabolic and cardiovascular phenotyping.
• Identification of therapeutic targets and genetic and metabolic biomarkers (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) for the detection and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases.