About
TVPlab investigates adipose tissue biology, energy metabolism and metabolic disease across two Cambridge locations: the Institute of Metabolic Science and the Heart & Lung Research Institute.
Professor Antonio Vidal-Puig
Professor of Molecular Nutrition & Metabolism · Fellow, Academy of Medical Sciences
Antonio (Toni) Vidal-Puig is Professor of Molecular Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Cambridge, a position he has held since October 2009. He is Associate Director of the MRC Metabolic Disease Unit, an MRC Investigator, Lead of Cardiometabolic Medicine at the Cambridge Heart and Lung Research Institute, Honorary Consultant in Metabolic Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and Scientific Director of the Cambridge Phenomics Centre.
He obtained his medical degree at the University of Valencia in 1986 and his PhD at the University of Granada in 1992. After clinical training in Granada and research appointments at Harvard Medical School, he joined Cambridge as a Senior Research Associate in 1999. He became Lecturer in 2003 and Reader in 2006 before his appointment as Professor.
Understanding Energy Metabolism at the Molecular Level
The TVPlab is dedicated to understanding the fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern how the body stores and expends energy. We believe that a deep mechanistic understanding of adipose tissue biology is essential to developing effective treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related cardiometabolic diseases.
Our interdisciplinary team spans molecular biologists, physiologists, bioinformaticians, and clinician-scientists, working together to translate laboratory discoveries into insights with real clinical relevance.
We are proud to be part of the University of Cambridge's Institute of Metabolic Science — one of Europe's foremost centres for metabolic disease research, embedded within Addenbrooke's Hospital, a world-class NHS teaching hospital.
Two locations in Cambridge
Our two Cambridge laboratories are based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, connecting metabolic research with the wider cardiovascular and clinical research community.
Location 1 — Institute of Metabolic Science (IMS)
We are based at the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit within the Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital. The IMS brings together clinical and basic science researchers to advance understanding and treatment of metabolic and endocrine diseases.
Our laboratory has access to state-of-the-art imaging, genomics, and metabolomics platforms, and maintains close links with the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the MRC Epidemiology Unit, and clinical departments across the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Location 2 — Heart & Lung Research Institute (HLRI)
Our second Cambridge laboratory is based at the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute (VPD-HLRI), on Papworth Road beside Royal Papworth Hospital. The institute is a partnership between the University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital, bringing laboratory, population-health and clinical researchers together to improve cardiovascular and lung health.
For TVPlab, this setting connects our work on adipose tissue dysfunction, lipid metabolism and obesity with cardiometabolic disease. Professor Antonio Vidal-Puig leads the Cardiometabolic Programme at HLRI. Our research examines how impaired lipid storage and energy balance contribute to insulin resistance and complications affecting organs such as the liver and heart.
HLRI also houses a dedicated Clinical Research Facility specialising in early-phase cardiorespiratory trials and experimental medicine. Its inpatient and outpatient facilities, physiology rooms and links with Royal Papworth Hospital provide an environment that connects laboratory discoveries with studies in people.
Explore HLRI · Clinical Research Facility · Visit our HLRI location