Exploring How the Liver Adapts to Nutritional Changes

PhD Circle is pleased to celebrate Dr. Vlera Fonda on the successful defense of her PhD thesis, following her doctoral research at the Helmholtz Munich Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology.

During her doctoral research, Dr. Fonda investigated how the liver adapts to changes in nutrient availability, with a particular focus on the glucocorticoid receptor — a hormone-activated transcription factor that regulates gene expression according to the body’s metabolic state.

Her research explored how the glucocorticoid receptor interacts with different partner proteins and coregulators to adjust hepatic metabolism under varying nutritional conditions, including caloric restriction. She also worked to characterize ANP32A, a coregulator protein, in the context of liver gene regulation and nutritional adaptation.

These findings contribute to a better understanding of how hormonal and nutritional signals are integrated at the level of gene regulation. This knowledge is particularly relevant to metabolic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and liver disease

An important part of Dr. Fonda’s doctoral journey was her participation in the EpiCrossBorders Research School at Helmholtz Munich, an interdisciplinary graduate program focused on epigenetics that supported her PhD training and research. Her doctoral work was conducted under the mentorship of Henriette Uhlenhaut.

Following the completion of her PhD, Dr. Fonda continues her scientific career as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Translational Metabolism Research (ITMR) at Helmholtz Munich. Her current research focuses on the neural circuits that regulate eating behavior and their role in metabolic disease, extending her work from molecular mechanisms in the liver toward the broader regulation of metabolism.

PhD Circle warmly congratulates Dr. Vlera Fonda on the successful defense of her PhD thesis and wishes her continued success in the next stage of her scientific career.