Hot Topics in Research: Dr Sadaf Farooqi: “The genetic basis of obesity and thinness”
Hot Topics in Research is presented by the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
“The genetic basis of obesity and thinness”
Dr. Sadaf Farooqi, MB, ChB (Hons), PhD
Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow
Professor of Metabolism and Medicine,
Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge University
The seminar is scheduled for Thursday, November 26, 2020 from 9 to 10 a.m.
Visit for event information:
https://www.bcchr.ca/events/public-events/hot-topics-research
Although the global rise in the prevalence of obesity is driven by the consumption of palatable foods and reduced levels of physical activity, there is strong evidence that inherited factors influence variation in body weight within a given environment. Genetic approaches have paved the way for the identification of core neural circuits involved in energy balance and therefore our understanding of why some people gain weight easily while others remain thin without too much effort. We can demonstrate that disruption of these pathways affects eating behaviour and other closely associated behaviours. Unravelling how complex biological influences modulate our interaction with their environment is critical to understanding the susceptibility to obesity and to finding mechanism based preventative and therapeutic interventions.
About the Speaker
Dr. Farooqi is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, UK. Obesity-associated co-morbidities are greatest in children and adults with severe obesity for whom lifestyle interventions are seldom effective and therapeutic interventions are limited. The goal of Dr. Farooqi’s research is to inform therapeutic strategies for severe obesity by delivering a step-change in our understanding of human energy homeostasis. Her research interests include severe childhood obesity, thinness and translational research
