Rate My Professor Aline Boer

Dr Aline Boer serves as a Research Fellow and Principal Investigator at the Centre for Neuroendocrinology within the Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago. She directs the Boer Laboratory, which investigates the role of incretin hormones, particularly glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), in the central regulation of body weight, healthy ageing, puberty onset, and reproduction. Utilizing advanced mouse models, her team modulates GIP receptor (GIPR) expression in specific brain regions to uncover mechanisms by which GIP influences energy homeostasis, obesity pathophysiology, and age-related conditions. Boer initiated her research on GIP during a Master's project in 2014 and earned her PhD at the University of Copenhagen under the supervision of Professor Jens Juul Holst, subsequently establishing her independent research program at Otago.

Her scholarly output includes the review article "Obesity pharmacotherapy: Incretin action in the central nervous system" published in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences in 2023, co-authored with Debbie L. Hay and Alexander Tups, which elucidates brain-mediated effects of incretins in anti-obesity treatments. Another significant contribution is the 2023 Life Metabolism paper "A dahlia flower extract has anti-diabetic properties by improving insulin function in the brain," demonstrating the therapeutic potential of natural extracts. Additional publications encompass "Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor antagonist treatment causes a reduction in weight gain in ovariectomised high fat diet-fed mice" (2022) and "GIP receptor deletion in mice confers resistance to HFD-induced obesity via alterations in energy expenditure and adipose tissue lipid metabolism" (2021). Boer has secured prestigious funding, including the New Zealand Health Research Council Emerging Researcher First Grant valued at $400,000 in 2024 for exploring hypothalamic GIPR inhibition to extend healthspan, as well as support from the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust, Maurice Wilkins Centre, and an ENZ-DAAD exchange with Professor Timo Mueller at Helmholtz Munich in 2025. She serves on the Publicity and Events Committee and delivers presentations at conferences such as the New Zealand Medical Sciences Congress. Boer's research holds substantial impact by informing the optimization of GIP/GLP-1 based pharmacotherapies like tirzepatide, addressing pressing public health issues in obesity and ageing.