Antonio Vidal-Puig

Professor Antonio Vidal-Puig is a distinguished Professor of Molecular Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Cambridge, where he is affiliated with the Department of Clinical Biochemistry within the School of Clinical Medicine. He serves as Associate Director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit and leads the TVP Lab at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. His laboratory focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in controlling energy expenditure, fat deposition, and nutrient partitioning.

Professor Vidal-Puig earned his medical degree from the University of Valencia Medical School and completed his endocrinology training at the University of Granada Medical School. He conducted post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School (1992-1999) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital. In 2015, he completed an Executive Master of Business Administration at Cambridge Judge Business School.

His research program explores the molecular mechanisms linking obesity with cardiometabolic complications, with particular focus on adipose tissue dysfunction and lipotoxicity, brown fat biology as an anti-lipotoxic strategy, nutrient partitioning and energy metabolism, and MASLD as a manifestation of lipotoxicity. He is renowned for advancing the concept that pharmacological targeting of brown fat may treat obesity and for introducing the adipose tissue 'expandability' hypothesis as a key factor in insulin resistance pathogenesis.

His recent publications (2024-2025) reveal a strong focus on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), adipose tissue biology, lipid metabolism, and the liver-heart axis in cardiometabolic diseases. His work spans from molecular mechanisms to clinical applications, with increasing emphasis on holistic treatment approaches for metabolic disorders.

• Doctor honoris causa from King Juan Carlos University (2024)
• Society for Endocrinology Medal (2017)
• Hippocrates International Award for Medical Research (2015)
• Lilly Foundation Distinguished Career Award (2015)
• FEBS National Lecture (2015)
• Maimonides Lecture Award by University of Córdoba (2016)
• Sir Philip Randle Lecture sponsored by British Biochemical Society (2019)
• Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK) (2014)

Professor Vidal-Puig mentors numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in his TVP Lab. His research is supported by major funding bodies including the Medical Research Council (MRC), British Heart Foundation, and European Research Council. He serves as Chair of the Life Sciences Panel and is a recipient of a Principal Investigator award from the ERC. Internationally, he maintains academic engagements including his role as Chair of the Centre on Artificial Intelligence for Humankind at the National University of Singapore Business School and as the Toh Chin Chye Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore.

The TVP Lab employs an Integrated Physiology approach, utilizing genetically modified models and Systems Biology methods including transcriptomic, lipidomic, and bioinformatic analyses to map lipid metabolic networks across different organs. The lab's research aims to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for treating obesity and associated metabolic disorders.