Tim J. Schulz

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Tim J. Schulz, 2018

Tim Julius Schulz (born January 27, 1979 in Northeim ) is a German biochemist and nutritionist .

Life

Tim Schulz studied biochemistry at the University of Potsdam from October 1999 , where he graduated in 2004 with a diploma. This was followed by a doctoral degree, which was completed in 2007 with Michael Ristow at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Chair of Human Nutrition) with a doctoral thesis on the subject of hepatocyte-specific inactivation of the mitochondrial protein frataxin . As a post-doctoral student , he worked at the Joslin Diabetes Center of Harvard Medical School from September 2007 to July 2012 thanks to annually changing scholarships . From September 2012 to March 2016 he headed the Emmy Noether junior research group “Fat Cell Development” at the German Institute for Human Nutrition (DIfE) in Potsdam-Rehbrück. In April 2016 he became W2 professor at the University of Potsdam and at the DIfE with a five-year contract , where he continues his research as head of the department “Fat Cell Development and Nutrition”.

research

Schulz investigates the development of and possible therapies for obesity and related metabolic diseases ( metabolic syndrome ). He focuses on the development of brown adipose tissue and white adipose tissue from stem cells , on the effect of fat cells in the body and on the consequences of the decrease in brown fat cells with increasing age. Depending on age, this change leads to various metabolic disorders; for example, after losing brown adipose tissue, energy requirements decrease, which can increase obesity. Brown fat cells are used for heat regulation and are particularly present in infants (due to their larger surface area, they cool down more quickly than adults), but there is also brown adipose tissue in adults, especially on the upper body along the shoulder blades, in the area of ​​the inner neck regions and along the spine. In contrast to white fat cells, in which the body stores excess energy in the form of fat (as an energy reserve and for thermal insulation), brown fat cells can burn fat directly for heat generation. If you are overweight, however, white fat cells accumulate in all possible places in the body that are harmful (partly due to aging processes) and, according to Schulz, displace blood-forming cells in the bone marrow or muscles, for example. As a result, they also reduce the regenerative capacity of these tissues and impair their function. The fat cells in the bones use an enzyme to impair blood formation and bone healing. The enzyme in question is also known in diabetes research and is inhibited by gliptins . Schulz found that the formation of blood-forming or fat cells from stem cells in the bones also depends on diet. He is looking for forms of therapy against obesity and its secondary diseases by increasing the number of brown fat cells.

In 2007 he showed that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans lives longer with restricted glucose.

In 2018 he received the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Young Talent Award for his work on white and brown fat cells. In 2013 he received an ERC Starting Grant.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ambrosi, Schulz et al. a., Adipocyte Accumulation in the Bone Marrow during Obesity and Aging Impairs Stem Cell-Based Hematopoietic and Bone Regeneration, Cell Stem Cell, Volume 20, 2017, pp. 771-784.
  2. ↑ Paul Ehrlich Young Talent Award for work on fat cell biology. On: idw-online.de from March 14, 2018
  3. ↑ Tim J. Schulz et al. a., Glucose Restriction Extends Caenorhabditis elegans Life Span by Inducing Mitochondrial Respiration and Increasing Oxidative Stress, Cell Metabolism, Volume 6, 2007, pp. 280-293
  4. ↑ Potsdam nutrition researcher receives the renowned Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Young Talent Award , Bildungsforum Potsdam, January 23, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Schulz, Tim J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schulz, Tim Julius (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German biochemist and nutritionist
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Northeim