On June 3rd, from 16:00-17:15, our keynote speaker will be Prof. Dr. Juleen Zierath of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She will be joined by Jan-Frieder Harmsen of the Maastricht University Medical Center.
Prof. Dr. Juleen Zierath (Karolinska Institutet)
“Exercise, inactivity, and circadian rhythms – re-setting the clock in metabolic disease”
Juleen Zierath is Professor of Clinical Integrative Physiology at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and Head of the Section of Integrative Physiology at the Dept. of Molecular Medicine and Surgery and Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology. She is Executive Director of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen, and appointed Professor of Integrative Physiology. Zierath’s research has provided the evidence for the physiological regulation of insulin signaling pathways in skeletal muscle, revealing key steps controlling glucose and lipid metabolism that are impaired in diabetic patients. Currently, she investigates the interactions between intrinsic biorhythms and external perturbations such as exercise and nutrient provision to identify novel translational strategies for prevention and treatment of metabolic disease.
Zierath obtained her Ph.D. at Karolinska Institutet and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. She is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Nobel Assembly. Zierath was chair of the Nobel Committee at Karolinska Institutet between 2013 and 2015 and is currently an adjunct member of this committee.
Jan-Frieder Harmsen (Maastricht UMC)
“Effects of light exposure on substrate and whole-body energy metabolism of insulin-resistant individuals”
Frieder started his academic career in 2012 at the German Sport University Cologne, where he studied the B.Sc. Sport and Performance. After completing his Bachelor degree, he worked as a therapist in a rehabilitation and sports therapy clinic. At the same time, he was involved in collaborative research projects between the University Hospital Duesseldorf and the German Sport University Cologne with a focus on skeletal muscle physiology. He was thereby able to contribute to several peer-reviewed articles. In 2016, he began to study the Master program Exercise Science & Coaching at the German Sport University Cologne. During his Master, Frieder did an internship within the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University in Perth (Australia), where he conducted his own study to collect data for his Master thesis.
In 2019, he started as a Research Officer in the Department of Human Biology at Maastricht University. Under the supervision of Patrick Schrauwen and Matthijs Hesselink, he investigates the impact of the biological clock on metabolism with a focus on insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.