2018 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award
Lora K. Heisler, PhD
Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award Lecture
Harnessing brain circuits to improve type 2 diabetes
Lora K. Heisler, PhD, is the recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award. This prestigious award recognizes research in diabetes that demonstrates particular independence of thought and originality. Dr. Heisler will present the Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award Lecture on Monday, June 25.
Dr. Heisler is Professor, Chair in Human Nutrition and Head of the Obesity and Food Choice Division of the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland as well as an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Dr. Heisler’s scientific contributions include seminal discoveries in the neurobiology of energy and glucose homeostasis that demonstrate her innovation.
In particular, Dr. Heisler has elucidated novel approaches to harness serotonin’s activity in the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Notably, she defined the mechanism through which obesity medication d-fenfluramine exerts its beneficial effects—a clinically significant finding that contributed to the development of new obesity drugs targeting specific serotonin receptors. She also identified a mechanistically novel target for type 2 diabetes treatment, a subtype of serotonin receptors in the brain. Dr. Heisler further discovered substantially enhanced metabolic benefits by combining medications that target multiple components of the brain serotonin system.
Dr. Heisler exhibits a remarkable ability to apply basic science to clinically impactful work. Please join us in celebrating her transformative contributions to diabetes research.
Award Ceremony Video