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Professor Nik Morton's Inaugural Lecture

Lean Genes: slim fit, or slim pickings?

Nik Morton
Networking | Seminars

It’s a common observation that some people can eat what they like and not gain weight. But, given the evidence that such people do exist, how can we study them to learn the biological processes that support their lean and healthy constitution? Join Professor Nik Morton as he takes you through his scientific career from being a PhD student when the first real "fat hormone" was discovered, and a whole human genome was laboriously sequenced after years of analysis, through to now, where rapid population level DNA sequencing in hundreds of thousands of people can identify genes that explain our body shape and fatness. Nik will interweave his own discoveries through this tale, highlighting what we know about how our bodies have evolved to be a range of shapes and sizes, and what processes keep this in check in our daily lives.

  • From: Wednesday 1 May 2024, 5.30 pm
  • To: Wednesday 1 May 2024, 7.30 pm
  • Registration: 5.30 pm
  • Location: Lecture Theatre 3, Teaching and Learning Building, Clifton Campus, NG11 8NS
  • Booking deadline: Wednesday 1 May 2024, 3.30 pm
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Event details

As a new recruit to NTU, Nik will take the audience through his path in a scientific career, spanning from his undergraduate beginnings in Chemistry through to his present role as Research Centre Director in Biosciences. He will describe how a landmark Nature article identifying a "fat hormone" inspired him to pursue a PhD in the molecular biology of obesity and diabetes. He will chart his path through the academic pursuits that morphed him into a physiologist, prototypical bioinformatician, principal investigator, supervisor, and mentor, underpinned by successive personal fellowships. He will highlight the key milestones and pivot points along that path where successes and failures forged his academic resilience, and culminated in his recruitment to the position of Professor of Metabolic Resilience here at NTU.

Biography

Nik Morton graduated in Biochemistry at the University of Glasgow and completed his PhD in Molecular Biology of Obesity and Diabetes at the Clore Laboratory, University of Buckingham, with human geneticist Valur Emilsson and industry-academic Mike Cawthorne. He moved to his first Post-Doc position in Edinburgh with Jonathan Seckl, working on intracellular enzymes that modulated glucocorticoid action and that were potential therapeutic targets for metabolic disease. He obtained a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellowship to continue working in Edinburgh on steroid metabolism, before branching out with a Wellcome Career Development Fellowship and RCUK (UKRI) Fellowship to look at broader genetic mechanisms underpinning resistance to life-style-mediated obesity and metabolic disease. With a Wellcome Trust New Investigator Award, Diabetes Uk, MRC and BHF support, he set up a team of scientists working on the mechanisms of these “lean genes” using a range of approaches from biochemical and cellular, to in vivo preclinical modelling and drug discovery, becoming Professor of Molecular Metabolism at the Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh. He took on a Director role for Post Graduate Research and led a successful British Heart Foundation PhD Programme renewal in 2021. Nik joined NTU in Spring 2023 as Professor of Metabolic Resilience and Director of the Centre for Systems Health and Integrated Metabolic Research. Niks current research aims to unravel the biological basis of body weight homeostasis, with a renewed focus on the brain, and by gaining insight from unique models of "forced evolution" for contrasting fat mass and metabolic rate.

Programme

5.30 pm

Registration and welcome refreshments

6 pm

Welcome talk

6.05 pm

Lecture begins

6.50 pm

Close and thanks by Executive Dean

7 pm

Drinks reception

7.30 pm

Close

Location details

Address:

Teaching and Learning Building
Clifton Campus
 NG11 8NS

Parking:

Take a look at our maps and directions page to find the best parking for you to our Clifton campus.

Travel Info:

Take a look at our maps and directions page to find the best route for you to our Clifton campus.

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