SUMMARY
The research of Michael D. Jensen, M.D., explores the effects of obesity and how body fat and body fat distribution influence health. Body fat also is called adipose tissue. The regulated uptake, storage and release of fatty acids from adipose tissue play a major role in determining its health effects.
Dr. Jensen's research involves measuring free fatty acid release to relate these factors to organ and tissue function. He also measures the uptake of fatty acids into muscle, heart and adipose tissue to determine whether preferential uptake of fat can predispose people to obesity, insulin resistance, heart failure or a specific body fat distribution. Dr. Jensen assesses the cellular fates of fatty acids and the cell processes responsible for these steps.
The long-term goal of Dr. Jensen's research is to understand the regulation of body fat function and body fat distribution. This research will help develop new approaches to improve the health of humans affected by obesity or excess fat.
Focus areas
Abdominal fat and predisposition to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Jensen studies how adipose tissue function varies between people who preferentially store fat in their abdomens and those who store fat in their hips and thighs.
Whether a person gains or loses fat in one body region rather than another is determined by how well the fat cells in those regions accept and release fat compared with other fat cells, how many fat cells there are, and whether new fat cells are being created. Excess release of fatty acids from fat cells can cause metabolic dysfunction in the heart, liver, pancreas and muscles.
Dr. Jensen's team has developed approaches to measure free fatty acid release in different body fat depots and how this relates to cellular function within those depots. His team also is interested in how insulin and exercise stimulate muscle glucose uptake and whether this action is modulated by free fatty acids released from adipocytes. Adipocytes are cells that store fat.
Human studies. To explore tissue function, human studies in Dr. Jensen's lab include weight-loss studies, the use of isotope dilution techniques to measure free fatty acid and triglyceride fatty turnover, blood flow measurements, body composition measurements, exercise studies, and indirect calorimetry to measure energy expenditure. Other techniques include liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blotting, real-time polymerase chain reaction and tissue enzyme activity measures. To get tissue for these studies, researchers in the lab routinely perform adipose tissue and muscle biopsies.
Dr. Jensen's lab also uses phosphoproteomic strategies to understand new regulatory pathways in adipose tissue and muscles, as well as gene expression approaches to understand adipose tissue regulation.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Jensen improves the understanding of the constitutional, genetic and environmental factors that regulate body fat distribution and tissue fatty acid metabolism. Dr. Jensen's team hopes to provide insights into potential new therapeutic options to prevent and treat insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Jensen's research into regulation of fat metabolism helps to prevent and improve quality of life for people with obesity, insulin resistance and lipid disorders.
Professional highlights
- Editor-in-chief, Obesity, 2023-present.
- Denmark Honorary Skou Professor, Faculty of Health, Aarhus University, 2020-2024.
- George Bray Outstanding Scientific Achievements Award in Obesity Research, American Society for Nutrition, 2023.
- The Obesity Society:
- George A. Bray Founders Award, 2019.
- Take Off Pounds Sensibly Research Achievement Award, 2010.
- Thomas J. Watson Professor in Honor of Dr. Robert Frye, Mayo Clinic, 2013.