Charna Dibner

Charna Dibner is an Associate Professor and group leader at the University of Geneva, working within the Department of Surgery and the Division of thoracic and endocrine surgery at Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG). Her research focuses on circadian rhythms and biological clocks, particularly their relationship with metabolic processes, diabetes, obesity, and cancer (especially thyroid cancer).

Dr. Dibner has established an experimental system for long-term recording of circadian reporter oscillations in human primary cultured cells from different tissue types at both population and single-cell levels. Her laboratory investigates the molecular basis of circadian rhythmicity in pancreatic islets (particularly α- and β-cells), skeletal muscle, white adipose tissue, and thyroid tissue. She explores how circadian regulation impacts metabolic function in physiological contexts and under conditions of diabetes-associated insulin resistance.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on the intersection of circadian biology with metabolic diseases, particularly examining lipid metabolism rhythms, pancreatic islet function, and the emerging connection between circadian clocks and cancer development. Her work increasingly incorporates multi-omics approaches and wearable technology for monitoring circadian parameters in clinical populations.

Dr. Dibner has supervised numerous PhD students whose research has contributed significantly to understanding circadian regulation in metabolic tissues and cancer. Her laboratory maintains active collaborations across multiple disciplines including endocrinology, oncology, and systems biology.