Research Program. Precision Nutrition and Obesity

Neuroendocrinology of Metabolism Group

Group leader: Prof. Dr. Jesús Argente Oliver

Objectives: our strategic objectives are as follows:

  • To understand the causes of childhood obesities, including epigenetics, genetics, genomics and metabolomic influences.
  • To investigate the interaction between genetics and nutrition on metabolic and health outcomes.
  • To analyze comorbidities in children with severe early onset obesity.
  • We use animal models to try to understand the effects of early nutrition and hormonal changes on long-term metabolic health. At a cellular level, we are interested in how the brain, especially glial cells, respond to specific nutrients to affect metabolism and neuroinflammation.

Prof. Dr. Jesús Argente Oliver

Professor and Director of the Department of Pediatrics at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Director of the Department of Pediatrics, Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology and Director of the Laboratory of Research, Niño Jesús University Hospital Associate researcher, IMDEA Food
Group leader of the Neuroendocrinology of Metabolism Group 

He is Full Professor and Director of the Department of Pediatrics at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Director of the Department of Pediatrics and Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology and Director of the Laboratory of Research at the Niño Jesús University Hospital in Madrid, Spain and is IP in the CIBER of Obesity and Nutrition, being the leader of the childhood obesity program.

He obtained his medical degree at the University of Zaragoza and completed his pediatric residency at the Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid and has worked at the Hospital Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris, France, the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, USA and at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, USA.

His main research interests include childhood obesity, pathophysiology of human growth, puberty, eating disorders and diabetes.

He has published more than 300 original articles and has lectured in more than 30 countries. He is past president of the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and past president of the Spanish Society for Pediatric Endocrinology (SEEP). He has obtained multiple national and international awards for his research.