Atul Chopra, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist and medical geneticist specializing in rare genetic disorders of metabolism and energy balance. An example of his work is the discovery of asprosin, a hormone that controls appetite and glucose levels, that was made possible by clinical examination of patients with mutations in a gene never previously associated with such processes.
I study energy homeostasis and metabolic disease, and discover novel hormones that allow inter-organ communication.
Research Information
Research Interests
Dr. Chopra’s lab at Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, studies every facet of asprosin biology - synthesis, secretion, blood dynamics, CNS and hepatic receptors, and manipulation to treat disease. He devotes most of his time to novel scientific discovery as a principal investigator of his lab group, and to diagnosing and caring for patients as an Attending Medical Geneticist at the Center for Human Genetics, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.
Research Projects
Dr. Chopra founded and operationalized Aceragen, Inc., a biotech company that is developing treatments for several rare genetic diseases. His professional life encompasses the entire arc - from caring for patients, to discovering new biology, to commercially developing products that serve those patients. Dr. Chopra also serves as a thought leader in metabolic and hormonal diseases such as obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and certain inborn errors of metabolism.