Elisabet Stener-Victorin

Elisabet Stener-Victorin

Professor
Telephone: +46852487200
Visiting address: Solnavägen 9, Biomedicum B5, 17165 Solna
Postal address: C3 Fysiologi och farmakologi, C3 FyFa Reproduktiv endokrinologi och metabolism, 171 77 Stockholm

About me

  • Professor Elisabet Stener-Victorin is principle investigator of the research group Reproductive Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet. Through financial support from the Swedish Research Council, Novo Nordisk Foundation, clinical funding, and The Strategic Research Program for Diabetes at Karolinska Institutet, her lab bridging preclinical and clinical investigations of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) the most common endocrine and metabolic disorder.

Research

  • My lab is interested in dissecting the genetic versus epigenetic heritability in the transmission of PCOS and associated comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes and mental-health disorders across generations by dissecting the molecular, mechanistic, and causal links, and to determine whether men can also transmit the disease. We use different PCOS-like mice models to delineate the main trigger of PCOS and define whether germ cells drive the transmission of the syndrome in the absence of PCOS-associated gene variants. Moreover, we translate our findings in mice to the clinical situation and perform detailed phenotyping of women with and without PCOS and collect serum/blood and endometrium, fat and skeletal muscle tissue biopsies and investigate the effect of different treatments. Frequently used techniques are single-cell/nuclei RNA sequencing, whole genome bisulfite sequencing, small-noncoding RNA sequencing, 3D endometrial organoid, stem cell differentiation modeling e.g. adipogenesis and myogenesis.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2026
    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the leading cause of female infertility and linked to type-2 diabetes and endometrial cancer. Progress in managing the disorder is hindered by a lack of insight into the underlying mechanisms. We know that male hormones play a key role and that PCOS runs in families. Recently we made the discovery that prenatal androgen-induced PCOS-like traits in female and male mice are passed down across multiple generations. Thus, growing evidence suggests that genetic and epigenetic mechanisms act in concert in complex traits as PCOS.Yet fundamental questions remain:What are the cell-type-specific epigenetic and transcriptomic disease signatures and signaling pathways in PCOS endometrium and adipose tissue? Can such perturbations be reversed?What are the key triggers and molecular pathways that drive transmission of PCOS in the absence of PCOS-associated gene variants?Can germ cells drive transmission in the absence of direct intrauterine effects? If so, can PCOS be transmitted to future generations also by sons?We will integrate human and mouse studies with state-of-the-art molecular techniques to answer these questions. The fundamental novel insights that the proposed projects will yield into PCOS etiology and pathophysiology will have several important translational implications that could shape how PCOS, and associated comorbidities is managed. The long-term goal is to give targeted treatment and to predict response to treatment.
  • Dissecting the molecular, mechanistic and causal pathways of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and how these are passed on across generations
    Novo Nordisk Foundation
    1 June 2022 - 31 May 2027
    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the leading cause of female infertility and linked to type-2 diabetes and cancer. Progress in managing the disorder is hindered by lack of insight into the underlying mechanisms. We know that male hormones plays a key role and that PCOS runs in families. Recently we made the discovery that PCOS-like symptoms, induced by exposing pregnant mice to male hormone, are passed down from mothers to great-granddaughters. Moreover, we have indications that sons can transmit the disease as well. _x000D_ _x000D_ I will take a multidisciplinary approach to get better insights into how PCOS is passed on in families. We will use human and mouse studies as well as state-of-the-art molecular techniques to dissect the key mechanisms that influence how the syndrome is passed on across generations both by women and men. My vision is to open new horizons for prevention strategies rather than managing symptoms, thereby markedly reducing the burden of the disease in both women and men._x000D_
  • Transgenerational inheritance of disease – the role of germline transmission and impact of exercise
    Novo Nordisk Foundation
    1 October 2019 - 30 September 2022
  • Transgenerational epigenetic germline inheritance – the impact of exercise
    Novo Nordisk Foundation
    1 October 2018 - 30 September 2021
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 June 2018 - 30 June 2018
  • Maternal androgen excess and maternal obesity – Does it program transgenerational mitochondrial dysfunction?
    Novo Nordisk Foundation
    1 October 2017 - 1 October 2018
  • Maternal Androgen and Obesity Effects on Placenta and Fetus Function, on Offspring Behavior and Metabolism, and on Gut Microbiome Function
    Novo Nordisk Foundation
    1 October 2016 - 1 October 2017
  • Developmental origin of Androgen Excess and Insulin Resistance in Females – Genetic, Epigenetic and Environmental Influences
    Novo Nordisk Foundation
    1 September 2015 - 1 September 2016
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2015 - 31 December 2018

Employments

  • Professor, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, 2017-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2015

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