Congratulations to Anne-Laure Poher for her successful thesis defence
The PHYM Department congratulates Anne-Laure Poher for her successful Doctoral thesis defence on Thurs, July 7th 2016. Anne-Laure received her Doctoral degree for her thesis entitled “The Obesity Resistant Lou/C Rat as a Model to Study the Metabolic Impact of White Adipose Tissue Browning and Perinatal High-Fat feeding” with High Distinction, the top possible honour for her well-deserved title.
Anne-Laure began her studies in the laboratory of Prof. Françoise Rohner-Jeanrenaud in June 2011. During the course of her training Anne-Laure worked on characterizing why and how the age- and obesity-resistant Lou/C rat remains thin. Anne-Laure’s work showed that when these rats are treated with β3 adrenergic receptor agonist (potential anti-diabetic and anti-obesity drugs) the thermogenesis protein UCP1 increases in white fat, and the white fat of Lou/C rat undergoes “browning” by the increased appearance of “beige” cells. These changes increase glucose metabolism in white fat that in turn leads to a fat-burning futile cycle of increased lipogenesis coupled to lipolysis. These findings are highly relevant in world where obesity and diabetes are on the rise at an alarming rate, and were published in the journal Diabetes, one of the most prominent journals in the field. In addition, Anne-Laure participated in numerous collaborations both within the University of Geneva as well as with outside laboratories, leading to a total of 4 other research publications and 2 review articles. Well done!
In the future Anne-Laure plans to pursue her postdoctoral studies in Germany.
Wishing Anne-Laure the all the best for her bright future!
Posted by: P. Nunes-Hasler
13 Jul 2016