Curriculum Vitae
Lars la Cour Poulsen
Scientific focus areas
Dr. la Cour Poulsen is currently working on the principles of adipose tissue that govern human health and disease, focusing on its role in obesity. Investigations aim at describing the epigenetic mechanisms that account for the increased prevalence of metabolic disorders in obese
individuals through comprehensive sequencing on subcutaneous and
visceral fat biopsies obtained from weight-loss surgery patients. Previous research has been centered on conditions relating to obesity and me
tabolic syndrome including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and inflammation. Specific investigations have involved the carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) and its role in the adaptive and toxic response of pancreatic β-cells to sugar, and in the study of the Notch signaling system in vascular inflammation.
Education
2012 PhD of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Southern Denmark, Odense.
Current and former positions
2017 – Present Postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Yvonne Böttcher, Akerhus Univesrsity Hospital, Oslo, Norway
2013 – 2017 Postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Guttorm Haraldsen, Oslo University Hospital, K.G. Jebsen Inflammation Research Centre, Oslo, Norway
2012 Research assistant in the laboratory of Prof. Susanne Mandrup, University of Southern Denmark, Odense
Awards and grants
2018 Received travel grant for the 54th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes
2009 First prize popular science article: “Et fedt problem” at the Novo Scholarship Symposium
2008 – 2009 Scholarship recipient and Novo Science Ambassador from
the Novo Scholarship Programme in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
2000 Received Karl Schmidt Memorial Grant at Odense Katedralskole for special achievements in physics
2000 Selected for the final of Danish Olympics in Physics for high school students
Teaching and supervision
Supervised PhD and project students, lectured several university courses (including metabolism, biochemistry and molecular biology, transcriptional regulation of adipocytes, and introductory physics), and worked as a substitute teacher in primary school
Publications
Peer-reviewed publications
la Cour Poulsen L#, Edelmann RJ#, Krüger S, Diéguez-Hurtado R, Shah A, Stav-Noraas TE et al. Inhibition of Endothelial NOTCH1 Signaling Attenuates Inflammation by Reducing Cytokine-Mediated Histone Acetylation at Inflammatory Enhancers. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 2018;38(4):854-869 (# Equal contribution)
Stav-Noraas TE, Edelmann RJ, la Cour Poulsen L, Sundnes O, Phung D, Küchler AM et al. Endothelial IL-33 Expression Is Augmented by Adenoviral Activation of the DNA Damage Machinery. The Journal of Immunology 2017;198(8):3318-3325
Schmidt SF, Madsen JG, Frafjord KØ, la Cour Poulsen L, Salö S, Boergesen M et al. Integrative Genomics Outlines a Biphasic Glucose Response and a ChREBP-RORγ Axis Regulating Proliferation in β Cells. Cell Reports 2016; 16(9):2359-72
Siersbæk R, Rabiee A, Nielsen R, Sidoli S, Traynor S, Loft A, Poulsen
LC et al. Transcription factor cooperativity in early adipogenic hotspots and super-enhancers. Cell Reports 2014;7(5):1443-1455
la Cour Poulsen L, Siersbæk M, Mandrup S. PPARs: fatty acid sensors controlling metabolism. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. 2012;23(6):631-9 (Review article)
Boergesen M#, la Cour Poulsen L#, Schmidt SF, Frigerio F, Maechler P, Mandrup S. ChREBP mediates glucose repression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha expression in pancreatic beta-cells. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011;286(15):13214-25. (# Equal contribution)
Science communication
la Cour Poulsen. Vi har et fedt problem. Videnskab.dk. (Popular science article)
functional genetics of obesity 