Ep. 1: Brain Circuits Driving Appetite 

June 10, 2020

In the kickoff episode of our 2020 Obesity Webinar Series, Professor Lora Heisler, Chair in Human Nutrition at the University of Aberdeen and 2018 recipient of the American Diabetes Association's Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, investigates the neural architecture underlying body weight regulation and identifies key brain circuits controlled by the adipocyte hormone leptin and genes in the melanocortin system.

‍Key Highlights

• How genetic factors influence weight propensity and how obesity medications leverage basic neurobiology to promote satiety and reduce hunger.
• Addressing the urgent clinical need for effective treatments given obesity's strong association with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature mortality.
• How fundamental neuroscience and drug discovery intersect to advance therapeutic approaches for obesity and metabolic disease.

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Ep. 2: Utilizing Stable Isotope Tracers in Preclinical Models of Obesity

June 17, 2020

Dr. Marshall McCue, Chief Scientific Officer at Sable Systems International and comparative physiologist with expertise in nutritional physiology and bioenergetics, presents novel laser-based stable isotope approaches for real-time, second-by-second tracking of 13C-labeled nutrient oxidation in small mammal obesity models. Sponsored by Sable Systems International.

‍Key Highlights‍

• How stable isotope tracers enable researchers to trace both dietary and stored nutrients to answer critical questions about nutrient assimilation, allocation, mobilization, and oxidation.
• How experimental manipulations alter lipid oxidation and the effects of exercise on macronutrient utilization.
• The power of nontoxic, in vivo tracking methods to illuminate nutrient flux and metabolic adaptation in preclinical obesity research.

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Ep. 3: Calories, Carbs, or Quality? What Matters Most for Body Weight

‍June 24, 2020

Dr. Kevin D. Hall, Integrative Physiology Section Chief at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK-NIH), addresses the ongoing debate about dietary contributors to obesity.

‍Key Highlights

• Examining the physiology of body weight regulation and how the body adapts to changes in caloric intake, macronutrient composition, and diet quality including ultra-processed foods.
• Using both human and rodent experiments combined with mathematical modeling to explores the complex mechanisms underlying macronutrient metabolism, body composition, and energy expenditure.

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Ep. 4: Heterogeneity and Crosstalk of Human Brown Adipose Tissue

July 22, 2020

Dr. Camilla Schéele from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen and Dr. Christian Wolfrum from ETH Zürich examine the cellular complexity and signaling dynamics of brown adipose tissue.

‍Key Highlights

• Exploring how multiple cell types—adipocytes, progenitors, endothelial cells, immune cells, and neuronal cells—interact to regulate thermogenesis and metabolic function.
• Utilizing Schéele's pioneering research on human adipose progenitors and batokine-mediated crosstalk and Wolfrum's expertise in adipose tissue plasticity and brown/beige adipocyte formation to presents late-breaking findings on brown adipose tissue's critical role in whole-body metabolic regulation.

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Ep. 5: Cravings and Weightlifting Squats - Technologies that Explore New Metabolic and Behavioral Research

‍September 2, 2020

Dr. Zhen Yan from the University of Virginia and Dr. Diego Bohórquez from Duke University presents their new mechanistic insights into obesity pathogenesis and treatment. Sponsored by TSE Systems.

‍Key Highlights

• Exploring how resistance exercise induces significant metabolic adaptations including enhanced muscle mass, protein synthesis, glucose clearance, and improved insulin sensitivity, providing a new physiological model for large-scale preclinical obesity research.
• Examining a direct neural connection between the intestine and brain that enables discrimination of caloric sugars from artificial sweeteners through glutamate neurotransmission, identifying a critical gut-sensed mechanism driving food cravings and appetitive behavior.
• How automated home cage phenotyping technology enables real-time, continuous monitoring of both resistance exercise-induced adaptations and gut-brain nutrient sensing, offering innovative platforms for understanding obesity pathogenesis and identifying novel therapeutic targets.

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Ep. 6: Mitochondrial Membrane Lipids and Respiratory Efficiency

‍September 16, 2020

Dr. Katsu Funai, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training and Molecular Medicine at the University of Utah, investigates how lipid composition in the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) regulates electron transport system efficiency and impacts susceptibility to metabolic disease. Sponsored by Aurora Scientific.

‍Key Highlights

• Using an advanced mitochondrial diagnostics platform, Funai's research systematically examines how IMM lipids modulate oxidative phosphorylation and energy transfer efficiency-processes impaired in obesity and inactivity but enhanced by exercise and calorie restriction.
• Highlighting tissue-specific gain-and loss-of-function studies to assess how mitochondrial lipids fundamentally influence metabolic health and obesity-related disease pathogenesis.

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Ep. 7: Animal Model Selection, Study Design and Current Trends in Preclinical Obesity Research

‍September 30, 2020

Dr. Fred Beasley, Director of Scientific Engagement for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease at CrownBio, provides a comprehensive guide to selecting and designing appropriate rodent models for preclinical obesity research. Sponsored by CrownBio.

‍Key Highlights

• Covers essential considerations for study design, compares genetically inherited and diet-induced obesity models, and discusses current research trends including Western-style diet protocols and evaluation methods like the NAFLD activity score.
• Practical expertise for researchers seeking to optimize their animal model selection and study methodology for obesity research.

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Ep. 8: Anti-Obesity Pharmacotherapy: Where are we now? Where are we going?

October 22, 2020

Dr. Ania Jastreboff, Associate Professor and Director of Weight Management & Obesity Prevention at Yale University's School of Medicine, examines the current landscape and future of anti-obesity medications in treating a chronic disease affecting nearly 2 billion overweight individuals worldwide.

‍Key Highlights

• Overview of existing pharmacotherapies, their mechanisms of action, and agents in development to address the urgent global obesity pandemic.

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Ep. 9: Why is Bariatric Surgery So Effective?

December 1, 2020

In the final installment of the 2020 Obesity Webinar Series, Dr. Lee M. Kaplan, director of the Obesity, Metabolism, and Nutrition Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, explores the mechanisms behind bariatric surgery's remarkable efficacy in treating obesity.

‍Key Highlights

• Examines how bariatric and metabolic surgery affects the gastrointestinal tract and gut microbiota to regulate energy balance and metabolic function—mechanisms far broader than those of obesity medications.
• Examining late-breaking research on the physiological pathways that make bariatric surgery one of the most effective obesity treatments available for adults.