Underneath the Lost Kilos:
Adipose, Adiposity and Adiposopathy
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About this webinar
There is growing pressure for therapeutics to demonstrate meaningful health benefits beyond the traditional weight loss efficacy metrics. For example, body composition assessments are increasingly used as evidence of “quality” weight loss, demonstrating that weight loss comes preferentially from fat loss.
At the centre of obesity, type 2 diabetes and various other metabolic diseases are adipose tissue excess (adiposity) and adipose tissue dysfunction (adiposopathy). Previously thought of as a passive energy store, adipose tissue is now recognized as a dynamic, metabolically active endocrine organ with many important functions. Adipose tissue expansion, distribution and dysfunction affect overall metabolic health, individual tissue function and a range of related conditions.
In this webinar, the featured speakers will discuss and explore adipose tissue function and dysfunction, addressing key questions including:
- What is currently understood about adipose tissue biology and how it changes in disease states such as obesity and type 2 diabetes?
- How does adipose tissue change with weight loss and treatment? How are volumetric reduction, spatial distribution and plasticity/composition changes linked to metabolic improvements, overall health benefits and response to therapy?
- How can adipose tissue health help explain response variability, sex-specific differences and the heterogeneity of obesity as a disease?
Register for this webinar to learn more about adipose tissue, how it changes during weight loss and with treatment and its relevance within metabolic disease drug development.
Who should attend
- Drug Developers
- Clinical Researchers
- Clinical Development
- Clinical Operations
- Clinical Project leaders
- Medical/Scientific Leads
What you will learn
- How adipose tissue excess and dysfunction contributes to the development and progression of metabolic diseases
- The various techniques and methodologies that are available for assessing body composition and adipose tissue composition
- Future directions and research questions in adipose tissue research and the implications for metabolic disease drug development
Featured Speakers
Kirsi Pietiläinen
Kirsi Pietiläinen is Professor of Clinical Metabolism at the University of Helsinki and Chief Physician at Helsinki University Hospital. She is an internationally recognized key opinion leader in obesity research and clinical care.
She leads the Obesity Research Unit at the University of Helsinki and the Healthy Weight Hub at Helsinki University Hospital. Her research bridges clinical obesity care and molecular metabolism, with a focus on why individuals differ in their susceptibility to obesity, its complications and their responses to treatment. Her work spans precision obesity medicine, novel pharmacotherapies, bariatric and digital care, weight stigma and mechanistic studies of adipose tissue, muscle, liver and systemic metabolism.
She has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed papers and has served as Principal Investigator in more than 25 international multi-center clinical trials.
Kirsi chairs the Finnish Clinical Practice Guidelines for Obesity, serves as President of the Finnish Association for Obesity Doctors and Chair of the North European Obesity Network and is a past President of the Finnish Association for the Study of Obesity.
Her recognitions include the 2024 Finnish Medical Association’s Max Oker-Blom Award and the 2025 EASO–Novo Nordisk Foundation Obesity Prize for Excellence.
Lars Johansson
Lars Johansson holds a PhD in Translational Imaging from Uppsala University and is recognized as a leading expert in metabolic imaging, particularly in understanding how metabolic dysfunction affects organs and tissues throughout the body. With more than 35 years of experience in clinical imaging within cardiometabolic and renal disease and over 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry, he brings deep scientific and drug development expertise to the field.
Before co-founding Antaros Medical, Lars was a Senior Principal Scientist at AstraZeneca R&D, where he contributed to the development and application of innovative imaging endpoints in clinical trials. In his current role as Chief Scientific Officer at Antaros Medical, he leads the science and design of clinical studies using MRI, DXA and PET. His work continues to advance how imaging is used to understand disease mechanisms and how weight loss induced with therapeutic interventions affects organs and tissues throughout the body.
He has authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters on imaging in drug development, which has established him as a respected voice in advanced imaging methodologies.
Partner for this event
Antaros Medical
Antaros Medical is a drug development partner, powered by imaging. We combine imaging science, disease biology and drug development experience as one integrated perspective – ensuring imaging is built around the development question. We work across cardiometabolic, renal, hepatic, neuroscience and fibrotic disease areas, using MRI/MRS, PET, DXA and CT. From focused mechanistic studies to large global multicentre trials, we design, deliver and interpret the imaging in clinical trials, generating evidence that informs the decisions ahead.