Frederic Gachon

The circadian clock orchestrates human physiology, including when we eat and sleep, synchronizing it with the daily changes in our environment and the alteration of day and night. Modern western lifestyles, technology, and shift work disrupt our body clock. This disruption is associated with many diseases including obesity and liver and kidney diseases, but the mechanisms responsible are poorly understood, as well as the causal relationship: is this circadian disruption a cause or a consequence of these diseases? This project aims at deciphering the consequences of the disruption of the circadian clock, with the hypothesis that the associated perturbations of our hormones could play a role in the progression of these diseases. This will potentially define new strategies to diagnose, prevent, and treat metabolic dysfunction associated diseases.