Andreas Mæchel Fritzen

Andreas Mæchel Fritzen

Associate Professor

I have worked for more than 10 years in regulation of metabolism, particularly lipid metabolism, with a focus on the role of physical activity and nutrition. I have since my work as research assistant in Prof. John Vissing’s lab investigated the effect of exercise training for mitochondria adaptations in young and elderly individuals.

During my PhD with Prof. Bente Kiens, I studied the interaction between metabolic fluxes in muscle and learned methodologies to study lipid and glucose metabolism in muscle of mice and humans. I also investigated the regulation of autophagy in muscle and the intracellular mechanisms controlling this protein degradation system. Finally, I was a part of a large dietary intervention study in humans elucidating the molecular signaling and adaptations in adipose tissue during weight loss. During my PhD I visited the lab of Prof. Gregory Steinberg, McMaster University, Canada to study the role of FGF21 on muscle and adipose tissue metabolism. During my post doc, I have worked with the mechanisms responsible for switching between lipid oxidation and glucose uptake in muscle and adipose tissue and contributed to development of a new model for investigating metabolic flexibility. During my postdoc I spent 1 year in the lab of Prof. David James, University of Sydney, Australia, where I worked on a project elucidating gene-diet interactions in mice regulating insulin sensitivity.

The various models I taken advantage of include invasive human experimental models in healthy and diseased individuals with muscle and adipose tissue biopsies. To gain a deeper insight into molecular regulation, I use different transgenic animal models and cells. This allows me to take a molecular approach to explore how lipids influence metabolism in humans underpinned with rodent and cellular work – with a clear translational perspective.

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