La Fleur Group

The research of the La Fleur group aims to unravel the mechanistic link between diet composition and the development of obesity and diabetes as a first step towards better understanding the parthenogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, focusing on the role of the brain.

The brain ensures that glucose levels in the circulation are sufficient for its cells to function properly and therefore dictates eating behavior and influences glucose metabolism, thus it is not surprising that there is overlap in neural circuitry regulating feeding behavior and glucose metabolism. We study both the classical hypothalamic pathways but also cortico-limbic brain areas and their role in feeding behavior and glucose metabolism.

The la Fleur group is part of a larger (pre-)clinical research team at the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the Academic Medical Center (AMC). We study the research questions with a translational approach using both diet-induced obese animals and human experimental studies. This translational approach is possible because of a close collaboration with the group of dr Mireille Serlie within the Department of Endorinology and Metabolism and the group of Prof.dr. Jan Booij from the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the AMC.