Patrick C.N Rensen is a professor of endocrinology at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). He is Established Investigator of the Dutch Heart Foundation and chairman of the European Lipoprotein Club (ELC).

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Patrick C.N Rensen is a professor of endocrinology at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). He is Established Investigator of the Dutch Heart Foundation and chairman of the European Lipoprotein Club (ELC).

Endocrinology

Patrick C.N. Rensen investigates how  disturbances in energy metabolism are involved in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The overall aim of his research is to apply the knowledge obtained to develop novel therapeutic strategies to prevent and treat these diseases. To this end, he unravels mechanisms underlying the function of brown adipose tissue, develops ways to non-invasively assess the activity of brown adipose tissue, and investigates the consequences of activation and recruitment of brown adipose tissue for cardiometabolic health. The role of DNA and proteins, lifestyle, the biological clock, gut microbiota and the immune system are specifically being investigated. Therefore, his research fits well within the themes ‘Health care research, sickness prevention and treatment’ and ‘Regenerative medicine’ of the Dutch National Research Agenda.

Academic career

Rensen graduated in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences and performed his doctoral research at Leiden University, both with honours. The title of his doctoral thesis (1997) reads ‘Apolipoprotein E: a modulator of lipid metabolism with therapeutic potential in drug targeting and sepsis’. After a short period as postdoctoral researcher he was appointed as assistant professor at the Leiden University Medical Center, positioned at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research-Prevention and Health. In March 2012 he was appointed Professor in Endocrinology of the Leiden University Medical Center. The title of his inaugurational lecture is ‘Vet Kleurrijk’.

Rensen is internationally recognized for his research on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in relation to cardiometabolic diseases. He is Established Investigator of the Dutch Heart Foundation, President of the European Lipoprotein Club and Editor of the scientific journal ‘Atherosclerosis’. He is author of approx. 250 scientific publications, among which publications in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology (2014), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (2015), Science Translational Medicine (2016) en Nature Communications (2015, 2017).

Prizes and honourable appointments

Rensen was awarded several prizes for his work, including the NVVG-MSD 2012 Award of the Dutch Society for Vascular Medicine, the Pharmacology Award 2013 of the Dutch Pharmacological Society, a Lilly Research Award Program (LRAP) Award 2015, and the Prof. dr. G.J. Tammeling Award 2016 for best lecturer at the Leiden University Medical Center. He was also the first non-Nordic to receive the ‘Nikkilä Award 2016’ of the ‘Scandinavian Society for Atherosclerosis Research’ for outstanding scientific contribution to atherosclerosis research.

Publications