Head of Metabolism Research Unit, German Mouse Clinic – IEG, Junior Research Group Leader at IEG – Hypermet Consortium (DFG-Forschungsgruppe 5795)
Dr. Nathalia Dragano
“My interest is to uncover the role of novel genes and pathways regulating energy balance in brain and body, to identify new obesity treatment targets and promote better metabolic health.”
Academic Pathway & Research Area
Dr. Nathalia R. V. Dragano is Head of Metabolism Unit at the German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Munich, and Chair of Metabolism Screening in the International Mouse Phenotype Consortium (IMPC).
She earned her Ph.D. in Science at the Facaulty of Medical Sciences - University of Campinas (Brazil) and gained international research experience as posdoc at the NeurObesity group at CiMUS, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Her research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating the crosstalk between the central nervous system and periphery in regulating energy homeostasis. She has led work uncovering how hypothalamic neurons and lipid-sensing receptors regulate energy homeostasis and inflammation, as well as approaches to target hypothalamic pathways for obesity treatment. In March 2025, she became a principal investigator in a project within the DFG-funded research consortium HyperMet.
Her project will investigate the potential of genetically induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy to counteract lean mass loss caused by GLP-1R–based drugs, promote long-term weight loss, and uncover the underlying mechanisms of metabolic regulation.
Fields of Work and Expertise
Mouse metabolic phenotyping obesity mouse models energy metabolism identification of new targets for obesity treatment
