Areas of Specialty:
Animal models of aging and age-related disease
Human genetics of healthspan
Mitochondria in aging
“Understanding the aging process will help us to better manage and treat the chronic diseases of aging which put an important burden on our societies.”
Pr. Johan Auwerx, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Johan Auwerx is Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he directs the Laboratory for Integrated and Systems Physiology (LISP). Dr. Auwerx uses molecular physiology and systems genetics to understand metabolism in health, aging and disease. Much of his work focuses on understanding how diet, exercise and hormones control metabolism through changing the expression of genes by altering the activity of transcription factors and their associated cofactors. His work was instrumental for the development of agonists of nuclear receptors – a particular class of transcription factors – into drugs, which are now used to treat high blood lipid levels, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Auwerx was amongst the first to recognize that transcriptional cofactors, act as energy sensors/effectors that influence metabolic homeostasis. His research validated these cofactors as novel targets to treat metabolic diseases, and spurred the clinical use of natural compounds, such as resveratrol, as modulators of these cofactor pathways.
Dr. Auwerx received both his MD and PhD in Molecular Endocrinology at the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium. He was a post-doctoral research fellow in the Departments of Medicine and Genetics of the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Auwerx has co-founded a handful of biotech companies, including Carex, PhytoDia, and most recently Mitobridge, and has served on several scientific advisory boards.
FOCUS AREAS
Mitochondrial Function. Auwerx’s lab is mapping the signaling networks that govern mitochondrial function and organismal metabolism in health, aging and disease. Their research has not only allowed the development of new methodologies and scientific approaches applied to population, as exemplified by the development of cross-species multi-layered genetics/omics gene mapping strategies, but has also contributed to an improved understanding of how signaling pathways control mitochondrial function and metabolism.
Dr. Auwerx’s medical background facilitates the translation of his research into novel therapeutic strategies for common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, frailty, and obesity, as well as rare inherited mitochondrial diseases. Several drugs that target processes and pathways which he has developed are currently being used in the clinic.
Awards and Honors
Elected as a member of the European Molecular Biology Association (EMBO) in 2003
Recipient of the Danone International Nutrition Award, the Oskar Minkowski Prize, the Morgagni Gold Medal, and the Marcel Benoist Prize.
His work is highly cited by his peers with a h-factor of over 120.
Editorial board member of several journals, including Cell Metabolism, Molecular Systems Biology, The EMBO Journal, The Journal of Cell Biology, Cell, and Science.
aging critical publications
R. H. Houtkooper, L. Mouchiroud, D. Ryu, N. Moullan, E. Katsyuba, G. Knott, R.W. Williams, J. Auwerx. Mitonuclear protein inbalance as a conserved longevity mechanism. Nature, 2013, 497, 451-457. PMC3663447
L. Mouchiroud, R.H. Houtkooper, N. Moullan, E. Katsyuba, D. Ryu, C. Canto, A. Mottis, Y.-S. Jo, M. Viswanathan, K. Schoonjans, L. Guarente, J. Auwerx The NAD+/sirtuin pathway modulates longevity through activation of mitochondrial UPR and FOXO signaling. Cell, 2013, 154, 430-441. PMC3753670
D. Ryu, L. Mouchiroud, P. Andreux, E. Katsyuba, N. Moullan, A. Nicolet, E. Williams, P. Jha, G. Lo Sasso, D. Huzard, P. Aebischer, C. Sandi, C. Rinsch*, J. Auwerx* (*co-corresponding). Urolithin A induces mitophagy and prolongs lifespan in C.elegans and increases muscle function in rodents. Nature Med., 2016, 22, 879-88. PMID27400265
V. Sorrentino, M. Romani, L. Mouchiroud, J.S. Beck, H. Zhang, D. D'Amico, N. Moullan, F. Potenza, A.W. Schmid, S. Rietsch, S. E. Counts, J. Auwerx. Enhancing mitochondrial proteostasis reduced amyloid-beta proteotoxicity. 2017, Nature, 552, 187-193. PMID: 29211722
H. Zhang, D. Ryu, Y. Wu, K. Gariani, X. Wang, P. Luan, D. D'Amico, E.R. Ropelle, M.P. Lutolf, R. Aebersold, K. Schoonjans, K.J. Menzies*, J. Auwerx*. (*co-corresponding authors) NAD+ repletion improves mitochondrial and stem cell function and enhances lifespan in mice. Science, 2016, 352, 1436-43. PMID27127236