Neural Regulation of Energy Homeostasis: Implications for Obesity Management

The Nansen Neuroscience Lecture 2025 is given by Dr. Christoffer Clemmensen, Associate Professor and Group Leader at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen. Read more here: https://dnva.no/en/detskjer/2025/06/n...

Abstract:
Despite the existence of physiological mechanisms to balance food intake and energy needs, the global obesity epidemic continues to escalate. Recent advances in understanding neural circuit signaling (see e.g. Nat Neurosci 2025) and the development of peptide-based therapies (see e.g. Nature 2024) offer promising new strategies for achieving sustained weight loss and managing obesity-related diseases.

About the speaker:
Christoffer Clemmensen is an Associate Professor and Group Leader at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His research focuses on how the central nervous system regulates energy homeostasis and metabolic health, with the aim of translating molecular and pathophysiological insights into effective therapies for cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases.
During his postdoctoral training at the Helmholtz Center in Munich, Germany, Clemmensen contributed to the development of the first preclinical single-molecule multi-agonists for cardiometabolic diseases, including GLP-1/glucagon co-agonists (Clemmensen et al., Diabetes, 2014) and GLP-1/GIP/glucagon tri-agonists (Finan et al., Nature Medicine, 2015). His work played a key role during a transformative period in modern obesity research (Clemmensen et al., Cell, 2017; Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2019).
In 2017, Clemmensen established his independent research group at the University of Copenhagen, launching several parallel research lines. His lab investigates the neuroendocrine regulation of exercise (e.g., Morville et al., JCI Insight, 2018; Cell Reports, 2020; Klein et al., Nature Communications, 2021) and its effects on the central nervous system (Skovbjerg et al., Molecular Metabolism, 2024). His team also continues to explore the homeostatic regulation of body weight using both rodent and human models (Lund et al., PLOS Biology, 2020; Nature Communications, 2024; Ranea-Robles et al., Diabetes, 2025).
The Clemmensen Group has also pioneered innovative therapeutic approaches, including central targeting of glutamatergic signaling in appetite-regulating brain regions (Fadahunsi et al., Science Advances, 2024) and the use of peptide-drug conjugates (Petersen et al., Nature, 2024).
In 2022, Clemmensen co-founded the biotech company Ousia Pharma, initially funded by the non-profit incubator, BioInnovation Institute, and now backed by venture capital. The company is developing a first-in-class conjugate linking a GLP-1/GIP dual agonist to a small-molecule NMDA receptor antagonist.
Clemmensen is actively engaged in science communication, with initiatives ranging from global podcast appearances to national Danish television. In 2024, he was featured in the documentary The Unfair Body Fight.
Clemmensen has authored more than 100 scientific publications in leading journals such as Nature, Cell, and Science, with over 9,000 citations. He was elected to the Young Investigator Branch of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 2018 and was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant in 2024 to further his work in the neuroscience of body weight homeostasis. He has supervised five PhD students (currently mentoring another three) and trained more than ten postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have since pursued successful careers in academia and industry.

Photo: Novo Nordisk. Thumbnail created by Henrik Pehrsen