Walter Wahli
Born (1946-05-23) 23 May 1946
CitizenshipSwiss
Alma mater
Known forWork on Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors
Awards
  • Otto Naegeli Prize (2002); European Federation of Lipid Research Award (2002); Hartmann Müller Prize (2008); Life Time Achievement Award (2011); Chaire d’Excellence Pierre de Fermat (2013)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsNuclear Hormone Receptors and gene expression; Energy metabolism
InstitutionsNanyang Technological University University of Lausanne

Walter Wahli (born 23 May 1946 in Moutier) is a Swiss biologist and a professor at the University of Lausanne and at Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.[2] His research has contributed to the understanding of the control of metabolism by regulation of gene expression. He is known for working on the nuclear receptors, Peroxisome proliferator-activated Receptors, known as PPARs, involved in the energy balance of the body.[3]

Education

Wahli received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Bern in Switzerland. He then worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Developmental Biology, Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore, and as a visiting fellow and a visiting associate at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, US.[4]

Research and career

In 1980, Wahli became full professor and the director of the Institute of Animal Biology at the University of Lausanne where he completed several mandates, such as vice-rector for research, postgraduate and continuing education and founding director of the Center for Integrative Genomics. He then served as a professor of metabolic disease at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, a joint medical school of Nanyang Technological University Singapore and Imperial College London, in Singapore. Since 2019, he is a visiting professor at this school.[5][6][7]

Wahli has a long-standing interest in nuclear receptors found within cell nuclei which are responsible for sensing steroid hormones, fatty acids and other lipophilic molecules. Upon activation by these ligands, the receptors regulate the expression of specific genes, thereby controlling key biological processes, such embryonic development, homeostasis, and metabolism of the vertebrates.[8] Since 1977, Wahli reported several discoveries related to the molecular mechanism of action of the estrogen receptor and then of the fatty acid-activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs),[9] for which he was the co-discoverer, in their functions of regulating lipid and glucose metabolism, inflammation, wound-healing, and cell differentiation processes. He also investigated the role of PPARs in the liver disease known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).[10] He underscored the potential of PPARs as drug targets for NAFLD that is often associated to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.[11] Wahli obtained patents for his inventions. His patents include "Composition for regulating lipid metabolism" (2013)[12] and "Composition for enhancing immunity" (2019).[13]

Honors

  • Elected member of EMBO (1998)[14] [15][16]
  • Otto Naegeli Prize (2002)[17]
  • European Federation of Lipid Research Award (2002)
  • Elected Individual Member of the Swiss National Academy of Medical Sciences (2007)
  • Hartmann Müller Prize (2008)[18][19][20]
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University ofLausanne (2011)[21]
  • Chaire d’Excellence Pierre de Fermat, Région Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse (2013, for 2014–15 tenure).[22][23][24]

Publications

  • Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors: nuclear control of metabolism.[25]
  • Differential expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs): tissue distribution of PPAR-alpha,-beta, and-gamma in the adult rat.[26]
  • Fatty acids and eicosanoids regulate gene expression through direct interactions with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors α and γ.[27]
  • Roles of PPARs in health and disease.[28]
  • Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor α mediates the adaptive response to fasting.[29]

References

  1. "Walter". genomyx.ch.
  2. "Walter Wahli | Metabolomics Congress 2017 | Conferenceseries". www.metabolomicsconference.com. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  3. "FBM Awardees 2011". www.genomyx.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  4. "Prof. Dr. Walter Wahli". www.swir.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  5. "Unisciences – UNIL – Walter Wahli". applicationspub.unil.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  6. "About". www.unil.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  7. "Prof. Wahli". www.unil.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  8. Wahli, W; Martinez, E (1991-06-01). "Superfamily of steroid nuclear receptors: positive and negative regulators of gene expression". The FASEB Journal. 5 (9): 2243–2249. doi:10.1096/fasebj.5.9.1860615. ISSN 0892-6638. PMID 1860615. S2CID 1464261.
  9. Wahli, Walter (2002). "Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs): from metabolic control to epidermal wound healing". Swiss Medical Weekly. 132 (7–8): 83–91. doi:10.4414/smw.2002.09939. ISSN 1424-7860. PMID 11971202. S2CID 33386091.
  10. Chen, Jiapeng; Montagner, Alexandra; Tan, Nguan Soon; Wahli, Walter (2018). "Insights into the Role of PPARß/d in NAFLD". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 19 (7): 1893. doi:10.3390/ijms19071893. PMC 6073272. PMID 29954129.
  11. Desvergne, Béatrice; Wahli, Walter (1999-10-01). "Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors: Nuclear Control of Metabolism". Endocrine Reviews. 20 (5): 649–688. doi:10.1210/edrv.20.5.0380. ISSN 0163-769X. PMID 10529898.
  12. US 8518459, Wahli, Walter; Bourgeois-Lugand, Marie Françoise Yvonne & Husson-Robert, Bernadette et al., "Composition for regulating lipid metabolism", published 2013-08-27, assigned to Actigenomics SA
  13. EP 3027056, Bourgeois, Marie Françoise; Cefaï, Daniel & Wahli, Walter et al., "Composition for enhancing immunity", published 2019-12-04, assigned to Actigenomics SA
  14. "Find people in the EMBO Communities". people.embo.org. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  15. "DNA Tests for Personalized Beauty, Health & Wellness | Imagene Labs". Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  16. "ICPI website" (PDF).
  17. "Prof. Wahli". www.unil.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  18. "The Open Nutrition Journal – Editorial Board". opennutritionjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  19. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Editorial Board.
  20. "Cell & Bioscience". Cell & Bioscience. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  21. "FBM Awardees 2011". www.genomyx.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  22. "Prof. Dr. Walter Wahli". www.swir.ch. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  23. "toulouse infra".
  24. "International Journal of Molecular Sciences". www.mdpi.com. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  25. Desvergne, B.; Wahli, W. (1999). "Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors: nuclear control of metabolism". Endocrine Reviews. 20 (5): 649–688. doi:10.1210/edrv.20.5.0380. ISSN 0163-769X. PMID 10529898.
  26. Braissant, O.; Foufelle, F.; Scotto, C.; Dauça, M.; Wahli, W. (1996-01-01). "Differential expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs): tissue distribution of PPAR-alpha, -beta, and -gamma in the adult rat". Endocrinology. 137 (1): 354–366. doi:10.1210/endo.137.1.8536636. ISSN 0013-7227. PMID 8536636.
  27. Kliewer, Steven A.; Sundseth, Scott S.; Jones, Stacey A.; Brown, Peter J.; Wisely, G. Bruce; Koble, Cecilia S.; Devchand, Pallavi; Wahli, Walter; Willson, Timothy M.; Lenhard, James M.; Lehmann, Jürgen M. (1997-04-29). "Fatty acids and eicosanoids regulate gene expression through direct interactions with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors α and γ". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 94 (9): 4318–4323. Bibcode:1997PNAS...94.4318K. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.9.4318. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 20720. PMID 9113987.
  28. Kersten, Sander; Desvergne, Béatrice; Wahli, Walter (2000). "Roles of PPARs in health and disease". Nature. 405 (6785): 421–424. Bibcode:2000Natur.405..421K. doi:10.1038/35013000. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 10839530. S2CID 4373446.
  29. Kersten, Sander; Seydoux, Josiane; Peters, Jeffrey M.; Gonzalez, Frank J.; Desvergne, Béatrice; Wahli, Walter (1999-06-01). "Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor α mediates the adaptive response to fasting". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 103 (11): 1489–1498. doi:10.1172/JCI6223. ISSN 0021-9738. PMC 408372. PMID 10359558.
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