We’re excited to announce that Professor Martin Jastroch will deliver the August Krogh Lecture at the IUPS 2025 Congress in Frankfurt!
August Krogh, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1920, was recognized for discovering how capillaries are regulated in skeletal muscle. A pioneer in comparative physiology, his influential works include The Respiratory Exchange of Animals and Man (1916), Osmotic Regulation in Aquatic Animals (1939), and The Comparative Physiology of Respiratory Mechanisms (1941).
Professor Martin Jastroch is a leading expert in molecular mammalian physiology at Stockholm University’s Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute. His research focuses on the evolution and function of non-shivering thermogenesis (NST), particularly the role of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in brown adipose tissue. Through comparative biology and mitochondrial bioenergetics, his work sheds light on how mammals adapt to cold environments and explores potential therapeutic strategies for metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes.
His talk, “Molecular Mechanisms of Energy Metabolism,” will dive into the evolution and function of non-shivering thermogenesis (NST)—a key adaptation that allows mammals to thrive in cold environments. Increasing energy metabolism for non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) is one of the most fascinating evolutionary achievements, enabling high body temperatures and successful radiation of mammals and birds into cold environments. In many mammals, the mechanism of adaptive NST relies on the mitochondrial heater protein, uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), in brown fat. Yet, the evolutionary origin and molecular innovations enabling NST have been unknown. Professor Jastroch’s laboratory has transformed their view on brown fat evolution using comparative approaches, highlighting that the thermogenic function of UCP1 has only emerged late during mammalian evolution in the stem placental ancestor. By integrating species diversity, we accelerated our understanding on thermogenesis, and have progressed the identification of thermogenic networks, which can be exploited for therapeutic approaches treating human metabolic diseases.
Don’t miss this evolutionary journey into the mechanics of heat, energy, and survival.
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