Spiegelman Lab News

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2025

February

Congratulations to Amanda Smythers for receiving the Trustee Science Committee Post-Doctoral Fellowship! This Dana-Farber recognition, funded by the support from members of the Trustee Science Committee, provides three years of funding and supports promising post-doctoral trainees as they progress toward independent scientific careers.

January

Congratulations to Melanie Mittenbühler for a new position as Group Leader at the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf, Germany!

2024

November

Congratulations to Sumeet Khetarpal and Mu A for receiving K99/R00: Pathway to Independence Award!

October

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Ludwig Princeton Distinguished Lectureship Series. Princeton University. Princeton, NJ.
"PGC1a/Irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise and Resistance to Neurodegeneration​"

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Metabolic H-talks Seminars supported by the Chinese Society for Metabolic Biology & Novo Nordisk.
"PGC1a/Irisin Pathway: From Muscle Metabolism to a New Therapeutic Approach to Neurodegenerative Diseases​"

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (IDOM) and the Penn Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) JOINT SEMINAR SPEAKER, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
"PGC1a/Irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise and Resistance to Neurodegeneration​"

September

Alexander Braunsperger joins us as a PhD Student. Welcome!

August

Congratulations to Phillip Dumesic for a new position as Assistant Professor at UCSF Diabetes Center and Department of Medicine!

Chufan Cai joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

July

Matthew Gilbert and Krystena Seremak join us as research technicians. Welcome!

Congratulations to Hans-Georg Sprenger for a new position as Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany!

May

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Cell Symposia: Exercise metabolism in Lisbon, Portugal. 
"PGC1a/lrisin Pathway: Key Effectors Linking Exercise with Cognition and Neurodegeneration"

April  

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at The Metabolic Physiology Meeting 2024 (METPHYS2024), Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
"The PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise and Resistance to Neurodegeneration"

Maierhaba Yasheng joins us as a research technician. Welcome!

March

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Janelia's "4D Cellular Physiology" conference in Ashburn, VA.
"PCG1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Muscle Metabolism to Cognition and Neurodegeneration"

February

Erik Henze joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

January

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at UCLA Clinical and Traslational Science Institute (CTSI) and the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) Distinguished Speaker Series 2023-2024, Metabolism Research Theme in Los Angeles, CA.

"The PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise to Cognitive Function and Neurodegeneration"

2023

November

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Pharmacology Research Seminar series, Weill Cornell Medicine, in New York, NY.

"PGC1a/irisin Axis: Linking Exercise with Cognition and Neurodegeneration"

October

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine (CMEM) Seminar Series 2023-2024, Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Virtual).
"PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise to Cognition and Neurodegeneration"

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Joint Keystone Symposia on Circulating Metabolic Intermediates as Fuels and Signals/Mechanisms of Microbiota-Immune Interactions-Towards the Next Decade in Snowbird, UT.
"Inputs and Outputs of Adipose"

September

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the Kendall-Hench Lecture in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, in Rochester, MN.
"PCG1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise to Cognition and Neurodegeneration"

July

Amanda Smythers joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

Louisa Grauvogel joins us as a Master Student, Deanna Tartaglia joins us as a summer intern student and Jack Kincaid joins us as an MD-PhD student. Welcome all!

May

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Seminars in Clinical Research, in Rockefeller University, NY.
"PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise to Cognitive Function and Neurodegeneration"

April

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at 7th Annual Frontiers in Diabetes Research Symposium, Stanford Diabetes Center, in Stanford University, CA.
"PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise to Cognitive Function and Neurodegeneration"


Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the Dutch Traslational Metabolism Conference (Online seminar).
"PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise to Cognition and Resistance to Neurodegeneration"

March

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Joint Keystone Symposia on Mitochondrial Dysfunction: From Ultra-Rare Diseases to Aging/Molecular Bases of Healthy Aging, in Breckenridge, CO, USA.
"Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Energy Expenditure"


Bruce Spiegelman's talk at 16th Annual CDP Spring Symposium "The Cell Biology of Neurodegeneration" Division of Cell Biology, Development & Physiology, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
"The PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Connecting Exercise with Cognitive Function and Neurodegeneration"

February

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Yale Endocrine Grand Rounds, Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, CT.
"The PGC1a/irisin Pathway: Linking Cognition and Neurodegeneration with Muscle Metabolism"

January

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Gordon Research Conference, Mitochondria in Health and Disease, in Lucca, Italy.
"The Futile Creatine Cycle: Mechanisms and New Biology"


Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Joint Keystone Symposia, Adipose Tissue: Energizing Good Fat/Bioenergetics in Health and Disease, in Keystone, CO, USA.
"The Futile Creatine Cycle: Basic Biology and Therapeutic Opportunities"

2022

December

Congratulations to Jingjing Chen for being awarded the AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association!

Congratulations to Yizhi Sun for being awarded the prestigious K01 Award: Research Scientist Development Award from NIDDK!
“The Role of Mitochondrial TNAP in Adaptive Thermogenesis” 

October

Congratulations to Aubrey Michi for being awarded the Governor General's Gold Medal of Canada for her PhD dissertation on human rhinovirus infections and lung immunity!

September

Congratulations to Laura Roth for being awarded the Walter Benjamin Fellowship of the German Research Foundation (DFG)!

Symanthika Bose joins us as a research technician. Welcome!

July

Qiuyang Zhang joins us as a research technician. Welcome!

June

Congratulations to Sumeet Khetarpal for being appointed the John S. LaDue Memorial Fellowship from Harvard Medical School! 

Norrapat Shih and Laura Roth joins us as postdoctoral fellows. Welcome!

February

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the Aging Research Seminar/Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh.
"The PGC1a/Irisin pathway: Linking Excercise to Cognitive Function and Neurodegeneration"

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the 4th Swedish Diabetes Summit (Keynote speaker).
"Adipose Cells and Diabetes: Biochemical Pathways and Therapeutic Opportunities"

Congratulations to Aubrey Michi for being appointed a Kirschstein-NRSA T32 Postdoctoral Training Grant for Cancer Chemical Biology and Metabolism!

Congratulations to Mu A for receiving the NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship!

January

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for a new position (Assistant Professor/Department of Biological Sciences) at KAIST (Korea Advanced Instutute of Science and Technology)!

2021

December

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Cell Biology & Disease Seminar Series.

"The PGC1a/Irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise to Cognitive Function and Neurodegenerative"
Congratulations to Mu A for receiving Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association (AHA)!

November

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Department of Kinesiology, MsMaster University, Ontario, Canada.
"The PGC1a/Irisin Pathway: Linking Exercise and Physical Activity to Health Benefits"

Jeeyoung Park joins us as a research technician. Welcome!

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being an invited speaker at the Seminar of Mechanobiology and Muscle Bone Crosstalk Research Team at the Indiana Center of Musculoskeletal Health (ICMH)!
"Irisin, its Receptor and the Links between Exercise and Health"

October

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory/Biology of Cancer: Microenviroment & Metastasis Meeting. 

“The PPARγ as a therapeutic target in cancer through its role in DNA repair"

September

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at SCRB 197, Frontiers in Therapeutics, Guest Lecture for the advanced undergraduates and MS/MBA graduate students!

Hans-Georg Sprenger joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

August

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Janelia Workshop on Nutrition and Metabolism Across Scales. 
“How can we capture some of the healthful effects of exercise in molecular form?"

July

Katherine Blackmore joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

June

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at The New Directions in Biology and Disease of Skeletal Muscle Conference. 
“Irisin and Its Receptor: Therapeutic Potential in Neuromuscular Diseases"

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at ADA 81st Virtual Scientific Sessions (Virtual/Emerging Paradigms of Uncoupled Bioenergetics in Metabolism Disease/Recipient of 2021 Albert Renold Award) 
“Noncanonical Thermogenesis via the Creatine Cycle"

Andrea C Tartaglia from Carleton College joins us as a summer intern student. Welcome!​

Sumeet Khetarpal and Aubrey Michi join us as postdoctoral fellows. Welcome!

May

Skye Yitong Liu from Brandeis University joins us as a summer intern student. Welcome!​

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for receiving the NEBS-GENOSCO Award from New England Bioscience Society and giving an award lecture at the 2021 New England Bioscience Society Annual Conference (Virtual)! 
​“Irisin in the Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”

Congratulations to Phillip Dumesic for receiving K99/R00: Pathway to Independence Award (NIDDK)!
Translational Regulation of PGC1α and Oxidative Metabolism”

April

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being an invited speaker at the 2021 Joint Crosstalk Symposium (Virtual/Crosstalk in Osteoarthritis: Within and Beyond the Joint)!
Irisin acts on bone via αV integrin receptors”

Congratulations to Melanie Mittenbühler for receiving Walter Benjamin Fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG)!

March

Congratulations to Bruce Spiegelman for receiving the 2021 Albert Renold Award from the American Diabetes Association (ADA)! This award recognizes achievements in training and mentoring diabetes and metabolism research scientists. Click "here" to read this exciting news!! 

February

Congratulations to Ariana Vargas-Castillo for being the winner of the 2021 Metabolism Award for Junior Investigator (Metabolism Clinical and Experimental)! 

January

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Keystone Symposia (Virtual/Integrating Metabolism and Immunity/
​Co-organizer) 

"Adipose Inflammation: Many Players and Many Regulatory Functions"

2020

December

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Stowers Institute Wednesday Lecture Series, Kansas City, MO (Virtual/Invited Speaker)
​"Brown and Beige Fat: Basic Biology and Novel Therapeutic Opportunities"

Bruce Spiegelman's interview at Heureka Labs. Please click "here" to listen to his interview with Matthew Hirschey. "Heureka! Stories on Building Knowledge with Bruce Spiegelman" 

November

Ariana Vargas-Castillo joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at 2020 Annual American Society of Investigative Pathology Meeting, Boston, MA (Virtual/Invited Speaker in the Plenary Session: Metabolism: From Organelles to Organisms) 
Energy Metabolism and Adipose Tissue”

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being an co-organizer/invited speaker at the 2nd Australian Space Biology Symposium, Sydney, Australia (Virtual Meeting, ASBS2020/Space Biology Session)!
Irisin acts on osteocytes to enhance bone resorption via αV integrin receptors”

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being an invited speaker at the 8th Seoul Symposium on Bone Health, Seoul, Korea (Virtual Meeting, SSBH/Bone-Muscle-Fat Crosstalk)!
​“Irisin mediates effects on bone and fat via αV integrin receptors”

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the Phil Gold Distinguished Lectureship in Cancer Research, Frontiers in Cancer Research Lecture Series at the Goodman Cancer Centre of McGill University, Montreal, Canada (Virtual/Invited Speaker)
"Brown and Beige Fat: Basic Biology and Novel Therapeutic Opportunities"

August

Congratulations to Melanie Mittenbühler for receiving NIH T32 training grant!

Congratulations to Xing Zeng for a new position (Assistant Professor/Department of Physiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center)!

July

Melanie Mittenbühler joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

March

Jingjing Chen joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!!​

January

Mu A joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!​

2019

December

​Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC

​“Brown and Beige Fat: Basic Biology and Therapeutic Pathways”

September

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the 7th Helmholtz Diabetes Conference, Palais Lenbach, Munich, Germany
“Futile Creatine Cycle and Adipose Pathways of Energy Expenditure”

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Joint Visiting Professorship Annual Lecture of Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and East Carolina University Diabetes and Obesity held at Duke Molecular Physiology Institute Integrative Biology Seminar Series
“Regulation of Brown/Beige Fat and Energy Expenditure”

August

Kornelia Johann joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!​

Congratulations to Phillip Dumesic for being an selected speaker at the conference, Bone and Muscle interactions: the Mechanical and Beyond!

July

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at​ Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Metabolism COBRE Annual Retreat meeting (Keynote Presentation)
“Physiological and Molecular Adaptations to Exercise: Bone and Muscle”

Congratulations to Phillip Dumesic for being an selected trainee talk speaker at Cancer Biology Annual Retreat!

June

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the American Diabetes Association 79th Scientific Session
"The Adipocyte and Integrative Metabolism-Pathways of Energy Expenditure"

May

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at the Cell Symposia on Exercise Metabolism
"Irisin, its Receptor and the Links between Physical Activity and Health"

April

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at EMBO Workshop: Organ crosstalk in energy balance and metabolism disease
"Regulation of Mitochondrial Metabolism and Energy Expenditure: Futile Creatine Cycle (FCC)"

Caroline Kim joins us as a research technician. Welcome!

Congratulations to Yuta Hiraike for receiving an Overseas Research Fellowship from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)!

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being an invited speaker at EB2019 (AAA)!

March

Yuta Hiraike and Nelson Knudsen join us as postdoctoral fellows. Welcome!

February

Bruce Spiegelman's talk at Keystone Symposia: Obesity and Adipose Tissue Biology
"Regulation of Mitochondria and Oxidative Metabolism: Futile Creatine Cycle (FCC)"

January

Congratulations to Chris Riley and Yizhi Sun for receiving postdoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association!

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being a selected speaker at Keystone symposia!

2018

December

Lab moving to Longwood Center, new facility!

October

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being a selected speaker at ASBMR meeting!

July

Sarah Wilensky joins us as a research technician. Welcome!

May

Chris Riley joins us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

January

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim for being a selected speaker at Keystone symposia!

2017

December

Congratulations to Lawrence Kazak for receiving Merton Bernfield Award and being a selected speaker at ASCB/EMBO 2017 Meeting!

July

Congratulations to Phillip Dumesic for receiving Damon Runyon Fellowship Award from Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation!

Congratulations to Bo Hu for receiving Cancer Research Institute fellowship!

Congratulations to Hyeonwoo (Chad) Kim and Alex Wang for receiving NIH T32 training grant!

May

Congratulations to Dan Egan for being an invited speaker at EMBO Workshop!

February

Alex Wang and Phillip Dumesic join us as postdoctoral fellows. Welcome!