IMSR Public Seminar: Mitochondrial Mechanisms for Cardiometabolic Disease

About this talk

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the western world. Moreover, the presence of obesity and diabetes increases this risk 2-4 fold. Alterations in mitochondrial metabolism are increasingly recognized as playing a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of metabolic disease and its cardiovascular complications. The lecture will provide recent insights linking mitochondrial dynamics and mitochondrial metabolism in the pathophysiology of obesity, insulin resistance and heart failure.

About the speaker

E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD is the Chair and Department Executive Officer of the Department of Internal Medicine and Director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center (FOEDRC) at the University of Iowa. He is a Professor of Medicine, of Biochemistry, and of Biomedical Engineering, and holds the John B. Stokes III Chair in Diabetes Research and the François M. Abboud Chair in Internal Medicine. Dr Abel has had a distinguished career in endocrine and metabolism research. His pioneering work on glucose transport and mitochondrial metabolism in the heart guides his current research interests: molecular mechanisms responsible for cardiovascular complications of diabetes. His laboratory has provided important insights into the contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction and aberrant insulin signaling, to heart failure risk in diabetes. Recent work has focused on mitochondrial mechanisms that mediate inter-organ crosstalk that may influence the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and mitochondrial pathways linking.