Nina Henriette Uhlenhaut is Professor of Metabolic Programming at the TUM School of Life Sciences, a member of the ZIEL Institute for Food and Health, and Director of the Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology at Helmholtz Munich. In 2014, she was already awarded an ERC Starting Grant.
Investigating the molecular mechanisms of stress hormones.
Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that are secreted every 24 hours in the day-night rhythm as well as in stressful situations. They play an important role as endogenous hormones and chemically as drugs. High levels of stress hormones are associated with metabolic disorders and with premature aging. In contrast, diets such as caloric restriction or interval fasting improve metabolic function and prolong life. However, these diets also increase glucocorticoids.
With the ERC Consolidator Grant, Prof. Nina Henriette Uhlenhaut now wants to answer the open questions: What are the effects of these increased hormone levels, and are these diets beneficial because of or despite the steroids? The GRACE project aims to identify diet-specific "rejuvenating" proteins and genes that influence our internal circadian clock. Ultimately, the study of molecular mechanisms of stress hormones will identify new pharmacological or nutritional interventions for longer, healthier lives.
More information:
• The other Starting Grants: EU funding for five research projects
• ERC Grants at the Freising-Weihenstephan site
• ERC-Grants at TUM
Editor:
Susanne Neumann
Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center
susanne.neumann@tum.de
Contact:
Paul Hellmich
Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center
paul.hellmich@tum.de