TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences 2019 | “Genetic Disorders of Dietary Excess: Getting to the Heart of the Matter” | Speaker - Dr Helen Hobbs

The TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences 2019

Featured Speaker - Dr Helen Hobbs

Lecture - "Genetic Disorders of Dietary Excess: Getting to the Heart of the Matter"


Registration is free but required for entry.

Breakthrough Prize Laureate Helen Hobbs is the 2019 Speaker of the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences

Dr Helen H. Hobbs, Investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, is the 2019 Speaker of the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences. As part of this lecture series, now in its ninth edition, she will be giving lectures in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and New Delhi. Admission to the lectures is free and open to all.

The topic of her lecture is:
‘Genetic Disorders of Dietary Excess: Getting to the Heart of the Matter’
Professor Hobbs’ work is focussed on searching for genetic factors that contribute to, and protect us from, diseases arising from dietary excess as food has become easily available and human beings more sedentary. In 1999, along with her colleagues, Professor Hobbs established the Dallas Heart Study (DHS) aimed at identifying factors that contribute to coronary heart disease and metabolic disorders. This 3500+ population group study showed that mutations in the protein PCSK9 result in lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the cholesterol in the blood that leads to atherosclerosis or the clogging of arteries.
These observations led to the rapid development of two FDA-approved, anti-PCSK9 antibodies for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and the prevention of coronary atherosclerosis.
More recently, Dr Hobbs’ team has identified sequence variations that are associated with the full spectrum of alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (FLD), including steatosis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Dr Hobbs and her team found that mutations in the protein PNPLA3 were strongly linked to this condition. Yet another screen showed that a mutation in TM6SF2 led to an increase in fat content. Dr Hobbs’ team has shown that this protein helps the liver secrete fat into the blood in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.

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