
Congratulations to Mirela Delibegovic, who undertook her PhD training in the MRC PPU in Tricia Cohen's laboratory from 1999 to 2003, who has been appointed by the First Minister of Scotland and His Majesty the King to a Regius Chair of Physiology at the University of Aberdeen. This is one of the most prestigious academic appointments in the UK academic system.
Mirela’s current research focuses on the causes and possible treatments for Type II Diabetes. Her PhD studies focussed on the hormonal control of glycogen metabolism, and by employing gene knockout technology she showed that one form of glycogen-targeted protein phosphatase 1 has the potential to contribute to obesity, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in later life, and that a novel form of glycogen-targeted protein phosphatase 1 was regulated by insulin. Mirela undertook her postdoctoral research with Benjamin Neel at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, where she continued research in the field of diabetes investigating protein tyrosine phosphatase1B in peripheral and hypothalamic metabolic signalling pathways, supporting its potential as a good target for the treatment of Type II Diabetes. In 2007 Mirela moved to the University of Aberdeen as a group leader and has studied molecular aspects of ageing and obesity in animal models. Her studies have focussed mainly on tissue specific models of protein 1B and other protein phosphatases. Her work is providing important data on the role of protein phosphatases in controlling metabolic changes, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and inflammation, supporting the notion that targeting of phosphatases may be beneficial in these disorders.
For more information on Mirela’s appointment to Regius Chair of Physiology at the University of Aberdeen click here https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/23324/