Understanding

Professor Giles Yeo (Cambridge)

Giles Yeo got his PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Cambridge in 1998, after which he joined the lab of Prof Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, working on the genetics of severe human obesity.  Giles Yeo is now a Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology and programme leader at the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit in Cambridge and his research currently focuses on the influence of genes on feeding behaviour & body-weight. In addition, he is a graduate tutor and fellow of Wolfson College, and Honorary President of the British Dietetic Association. Giles is also a broadcaster and author, presenting science documentaries for the BBC, and hosts a podcast called ‘Dr Giles Yeo Chews The Fat’. His first book ‘Gene Eating’ was published in December 2018, and his second book ‘Why Calories Don’t Count’ came out in June 2021. Giles was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s 2020 birthday honours for services to ‘Research, Communication and Engagement’.

Dr. Prof. Dorothea Portius (Leipzig)

Dorothea took her PhD in NAFLD (Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) and metabolic diseases at the University of Geneva in 2017 and went on to conduct post-doctoral research at the SALK Institute for Biological Studies and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. She was awarded a Women In Bio Founders Scholarship and obtained her certification in Clinical Trial Management at the University of San Diego in 2019, as well as becoming a certified Fitness Instructor and Functional Nutrition Coach.

Dorothea is currently the Chair of the Nutritional Therapy department at a private German University and is actively supporting people with chronic metabolic illnesses and cancers through personalized nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness. She is a member of the NextGen Project.