• Thanks to this program, the established researcher from IDIBGI and CIBEROBN and his team will be able to conduct in vivo studies to better understand the impact of gene suppression in adipose cells as a potential treatment for people with obesity.

• The “ValidatioNN” program by Novo Nordisk promotes translational research, prioritizing projects with future applications in the development of treatments for diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders, facilitating the path toward innovative therapies.

A project by Dr. José María Moreno-Navarrete, an established researcher in the Nutrition, Eumetabolism, and Health research group at the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI) and CIBEROBN, has been selected in the “ValidationNN: Translate your research to drug discovery” call by Novo Nordisk, an initiative aimed at promoting translational research in the field of cardiometabolic diseases.

Dr. Moreno-Navarrete’s research focuses on the long-term effects of the specific suppression of the LBP gene (LPS-binding protein, a protein involved in the inflammatory response and adipose tissue expansion) in adipocytes and its impact on adipose tissue physiology and metabolic disorders associated with obesity. Previous studies by the same team had already shown that inhibiting LBP in adipose tissue significantly reduces weight gain in mice, opening a potential therapeutic pathway to combat obesity.

Thanks to this funding, the group will be able to conduct in vivo studies to delve deeper into how this mechanism may contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies for treating these diseases.

The ValidationNN program by Novo Nordisk aims to drive innovative ideas in drug development, providing researchers with the necessary resources to validate scientific hypotheses with translational potential. In this call, projects with future applications in the development of treatments for diseases such as obesity, diabetes, or other metabolic disorders are prioritized, facilitating the path toward innovative therapies.

In the photograph, the research team for this project: Dr. José María Moreno Navarrete and Meritxell Torrent.