THE SCIENCE OF METABOLISM AND HEALTHY AGING
ABOUT THE SOUKAS LAB
We use genetic approaches from human to mouse to worm
to uncover the mysteries of aging and aging-associated diseases
such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer.
Our work informs the next generation of therapies aimed at promoting health in humans.
The Soukas Lab is located within the Center for Genomic Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. We are centrally situated in downtown Boston in the state-of-the-art Simches Research Building, a multidisciplinary research center with investigators in Molecular Biology, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Cancer Biology, Systems Biology, Cardiovascular Research, and Genomics.
The lab is also an Associate Member Lab of the
Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and has access to all the technology and capabilities the Broad has to offer.
To see what the lab is up to scientifically, see OUR SCIENCE
OUR SCIENCE
Genetic Approaches to Promote Healthy Aging, and
Prevent and Treat Obesity, Diabetes, and Cancer
Alex Soukas, MD, PhD
Dr. Soukas is the Weissman Family MGH Research Scholar in the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center Metabolic Phenotyping Core at Harvard Medical School, Associate Director of the Boston Area Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center, and Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Dr. Soukas received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, and Ph.D. from the Rockefeller University studying the weight-loss mechanisms of the obesity hormone leptin. Dr. Soukas completed Internal Medicine residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the MGH. Dr. Soukas is the recipient of numerous awards including the Charles H. Hood Award in Child Health, the Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging Award, the American Federation of Aging Research 2014 Research Investigator Award, the 2014 MGH Howard M. Goodman Fellowship, an Excellence in Tutoring Award from Harvard Medical School, the 2017 MGH Martin Prize for Fundamental Research, the 2017 Glenn Award in Basic Biology of Aging, and a 2018 MGH Research Scholar Award.
Dr. Soukas’ research program focuses on identification of new means to promote healthy aging. Using a combination of genetic approaches in model systems from cells, to worms, to mice, Dr. Soukas’ laboratory has determined how the anti-diabetic medication metformin exerts its anti-cancer and anti-aging effects.
Metabolic Phenotyping Core
Nutrition Obesity Research Center of Harvard
Model Creation
Creation of Medically Relevant Models via Genomic Targeting in a Variety of Cell Types
-
siRNA, shRNA, CRISPR
-
Primary Hepatocytes and Adipocytes
-
Immortalized Cells
-
iPS Cells and iPS derived Hepatocyte-Like Cells and Adipocyte-Like Cells
Phenotyping Assays
A Panel of Sophisticated Metabolic Phenotyping Assays Can be Carried Out on Primary Human, Mouse, or Model-Derived Samples
-
Metabolomics and Lipidomics
-
Mitochondrial Function
-
Insulin Signaling Assays
-
Hepatocyte Glucose Output
-
Lipolysis Assays
-
MRI Body Composition Analysis (Mice)
-
Energy Expenditure in mice (Sable Promethion)
CONTACT THE SOUKAS LAB
Soukas Laboratory
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Simches Research Building
185 Cambridge Street
Boston, MA 02114