Johan Auwerx

Expertise Metabolism, Mitochondria, Genetics, Systems Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Physiology, Diabetes, Atherosclerosis, Obesity, Transcription Factors. Mission Our laboratory is using systems approaches to map the signalling networks that govern mitochondrial function and as such regulate organismal metabolism in health, aging and disease. We apply a state-of-the-art biological toolkit to study a variety of model systems, ranging from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, over the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the mouse all the way to humans. Our research has not only allowed the development of new methodologies and scientific approaches, as exemplified by the development of cross-species multi-layered genetics/omics gene mapping strategies, but also contributed to improved understanding of how signaling pathways control mitochondrial function and metabolism. Although our research addresses basic biomedical questions, my medical background facilitates the translation of our research into novel preventive and therapeutic strategies for common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, frailty, and obesity, as well as rare inherited mitochondrial diseases. The translational value of our work is testified by the fact that several drugs targeting proceesses and pathways which we elucidated are currently used in the clinic. Johan Auwerx is Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he occupies the Nestle Chair in Energy Metabolism. Dr. Auwerx has been using molecular physiology and systems genetics to understand metabolism in health, aging and disease. Much of his work focused on understanding how diet, exercise and hormones control metabolism through changing the expression of genes by altering the activity of transcription factors and their associated cofactors. His work was instrumental for the development of agonists of nuclear receptors - a particular class of transcription factors - into drugs, which now are used to treat high blood lipid levels, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Auwerx was amongst the first to recognize that transcriptional cofactors, which fine-tune the activity of transcription factors, act as energy sensors/effectors that influence metabolic homeostasis. His research validated these cofactors as novel targets to treat metabolic diseases, and spurred the clinical use of natural compounds, such as resveratrol, as modulators of these cofactor pathways.Johan Auwerx was elected as a member of EMBO in 2003 and is the recipient of a dozen of international scientific prizes, including the Danone International Nutrition Award, the Oskar Minkowski Prize, and the Morgagni Gold Medal. His work is highly cited by his peers with a h-factor of over 100. He is an editorial board member of several journals, including Cell Metabolism, Molecular Systems Biology, The EMBO Journal, Journal of Cell Biology, Cell, and Science. Dr. Auwerx co-founded a handful of biotech companies, including Carex, PhytoDia, and most recently Mitobridge, and has served on several scientific advisory boards.Dr. Auwerx received both his MD and PhD in Molecular Endocrinology at the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium. He was a post-doctoral research fellow in the Departments of Medicine and Genetics of the University of Washington in Seattle. Teaching & PhD PhD Students Wenyu Liu, Maria Boulougouri, Giacomo Vincenzo Giorgio Von Alvensleben Past EPFL PhD Students Pénélope Andreux, Mitsunori Nomura, Evan Graehl Williams, Hongbo Zhang, Virginija Jovaisaite, Elena Katsyuba, Karim Laurent Gariani, Adrienne Joëlle Laurence Mottis, Hao Li, Peiling Luan, Alexis Bachmann, Mario Romani, Xiaoxu Li, Alessia De Masi, Amélia Lalou Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Serge Thanh Son Ducommun, Laura Lukjanenko, Joanna Ratajczak, Angélique Satoko Cercillieux Courses Scientific project design in drug discovery BIO-494 The goal of this course, which on a learn-by-doins to instruct the student how fundamental scientific knowledge can be applied for drug discovery and development. We will demonstrate these principles with examples, including virtual screening, in vitro screening, lead optimization and clinical trial Awards Helmholtz Diabetes Award 2017 Prix Marcel Benoist 2016 Jacobeus Prize 2011 Danone International Prize for Nutrition 2009 Windaus Prize 2010 Minkowski Prize European Association for the Study of Diabetes 1998 EMBO Membership European Molecular Biology Organisation 2003 Morgagni Gold Medal Morgagni Foundation 2004 Jean Valade Prize Fondation de France 2005 Dr Honoris Causa Universite Blaise Pascal de Clermont Ferrand 2013